Abigail Sciuto

**Abigail "Abby" Sciuto** is a fictional character from the *NCIS* television series on CBS Television, and is portrayed by Pauley Perrette. In a season 10 episode entitled "Hit and Run", a young Abby was played by Brighton Sharbino in flashbacks. Like Jethro Gibbs, Anthony DiNozzo, and Dr. Donald Mallard, Abby was introduced in the episodes "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown" of the television show *JAG* (which together served as the backdoor pilot for *NCIS*), and, up until May 2018, appeared in every episode of *NCIS,* in addition to being featured on the show's spin-offs, *NCIS: Los Angeles* (two episodes) and *NCIS: New Orleans* (two episodes). The role made Perrette one of 2011's most popular actresses on U.S. primetime television, according to Q Score.

Abigail is a forensic scientist at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service headquarters at the Washington Navy Yard, with expertise in ballistics, digital forensics, and DNA analysis. In the first episode of the seventh season, "Truth or Consequences", DiNozzo, while under the influence of a truth serum, describes her as "a paradox wrapped in an oxymoron smothered in contradictions in terms. Sleeps in a coffin. Really, the happiest Goth you'll ever meet." Her gothic style of dress and her interest in death and the supernatural contrast with her generally hyperactive demeanor and enthusiasm about her work.Template:Unreliable source?

## Concept and casting

Prior to taking up a career in acting, Pauley Perrette had studied at John Jay School of Criminal Science in New York, having previously aspired "to work with animals, be in a rock 'n' roll band, or be an FBI agent." She eventually began acting, later saying, "There's no drug that I ever did that worked as well as being an actor. What you're looking for with substance abuse is escape. But with acting, you can escape into 1,000 different things without almost killing yourself doing it. Acting is a total drug!"

Perrette was cast for the role of Abby Sciuto in 2003. On the subject of her character's creation and its purpose, she said "[NCIS creator] Don Bellisario told me that when he created *Magnum, P.I.* he wanted to introduce a Vietnam vet who defied the negative stereotype. So with Abby, he wanted to take an alternative-style person with tattoos and make her someone who is happy, totally put together and successful. All the script said about her was: black hair, caffeinated and smart...She's completely unaware that anybody thinks she looks weird. She thinks she looks pretty and never calls herself anything other than happy. And I fight for that."

Child actress Brighton Sharbino was cast to portray 10-year-old Abby for the season 10 episode "Hit and Run", which featured several flashbacks to a young Abby. Sharbino, who strongly resembled Perrette, reportedly spent time with the latter "in part to pick up on the NCIS vet's mannerisms and such."

## Personality

Abby is a cheerful and kind person, in contrast to her gothic aesthetic and fashion (Pauley Perrette, the actor of Abby, confirming herself that she would not be confined into a stereotype of Goth, and that Abby is Abby.). She's shown to be a very stubborn person, repeatedly attempting to prove innocence of multiple characters that she is or has been close with in the span of the episode. In the beginning of the show, she, along with Ducky, was one of the only characters who wasn't intimidated by Gibbs, and has repeatedly doted on him.

Abby is a very hard worker, and is revealed to have no outside hobbies or interests aside from bowling with a group of nuns. She drinks a lot of Caf-POW!, a fictional caffeinated energy drink, to keep her awake and alert, although it is implied that she is the only member of the team to enjoy this drink. She can be shown in states of agitation and panic, hitting her computer and walking around quickly, if her work is shut down or hits a dead end.

Abby cares deeply for her fellow colleagues, and can become panicked or depressed if one of her friends or colleagues is hurt, she can be sent into a state of overworking, and can easily become distressed when she is unable to work, and beats herself up over it.

## Biography

### Pre-Series

Abby was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

She was later given up for adoption by her birth parents and taken in by an unnamed family, raising her as their own along with their birth son Luca Sciuto.

Her foster parents were deaf with young Abby subsequently learning American Sign Language to communicate with them.

During her youth, Abby moved and got a chance to experience most of the southern United States. At the age of ten, she learnt how to drive a manual transmission.

Upon finishing high school, she went to college, graduating with full honors from Louisiana State University with a triple major in Sociology, Criminology, and psychology.

She had earned her Master's degree from Georgia State University in Criminology and Forensic Science.

A while after, Abby joined Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

## Behind the scenes

On October 4, 2017, Perrette announced that she would be departing the show at the conclusion of season 15. CBS aired her final episode on May 8, 2018.

## References

1. ↑ Rice, Lynette (August 3, 2011). "The most popular star in primetime is...". Entertainment Weekly.
2. ↑ "Truth or Consequences". *NCIS*. Season 7. Episode 1.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Lipovetsky`
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Moore, Frazier. "Pauley Perrette proud to play Abby on 'NCIS'", *interview*.
5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `buddyTV`
6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `tl`

## External Links

* NCIS Database
* Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abby\_Sciuto