On November 12, fans of NCIS around the world pause to celebrate the birthday of a woman whose presence on-screen left an indelible mark â Cote de Pablo. Known to millions as Ziva David, de Pablo brought a fierce intelligence, emotional depth, and quiet power to the long-running CBS procedural. But beyond the character, the woman behind the role continues to captivate â with both her artistry and her mystery.
From Santiago to Stardom
Born MarĂa JosĂ© de Pablo FernĂĄndez in Santiago, Chile, in 1979, she moved to the United States at age 10. The transition wasnât easy â adjusting to a new language, culture, and life in Miami. But even as a child, Cote displayed an inner resilience. She discovered theater early on, attending the New World School of the Arts and later studying musical theater at Carnegie Mellon University.
Her rise wasnât meteoric. Like many actors, she endured rejections, small parts, and commercial work. But all of that changed in 2005.
Becoming Ziva David: A Role That Changed Everything
Cote de Pablo joined NCIS in Season 3, stepping into enormous shoes after the death of Special Agent Caitlin Todd (played by Sasha Alexander). As Ziva David â a Mossad officer with a sharp tongue and complicated loyalties â she redefined what a female action lead could be. Not just tough, not just beautiful, but haunted, intelligent, deeply conflicted.
Ziva wasnât just written well â de Pablo made her live. She spoke Hebrew, delivered lines in perfect Israeli-accented English, and brought a gravity to the role that anchored episodes. Whether in intense interrogations or heart-wrenching emotional breakdowns, Cote brought Ziva to life in a way no one else could.
A Bond with Fans â and with NCIS Herself
Fans connected deeply with Ziva David. She was a warrior. A survivor. A daughter grappling with betrayal. A friend learning to trust. A woman balancing strength with pain. In many ways, Ziva embodied the complexity of the post-9/11 world â a symbol of conflicting identities, global responsibility, and personal sacrifice.
Her on-screen chemistry with Michael Weatherlyâs Tony DiNozzo became iconic. Their âwill-they-wonât-theyâ dynamic was romantic tension at its finest, made powerful by what was often not said. When Ziva left the series in Season 11, fans mourned the loss. When she returned briefly in Season 16 and 17, it felt like seeing an old friend again â wiser, more scarred, but still standing.
The Quiet Life Beyond the Spotlight
Unlike many Hollywood stars, Cote de Pablo is notoriously private. She rarely grants interviews and avoids the celebrity circuit. For her, acting seems to be about the work â not the fame.
Sheâs worked on several other projects since NCIS, including The 33 (a film about the Chilean mining disaster) and the CBS pilot MIA, which was never picked up. But fans continue to hope that sheâll return to the screen again â perhaps as Ziva once more, or perhaps in a new, unexpected role.
What makes Coteâs silence so powerful is that it mirrors what made Ziva compelling: mystery, discipline, and integrity.
A Legacy That Continues
On this birthday, we celebrate not just the performer, but the presence of Cote de Pablo. She brought something rare to primetime television â a sense of realism wrapped in charisma, subtlety cloaked in strength.
She gave us Ziva David, a character still beloved years after her exit. And more than that, she showed what it means to walk away from the spotlight on oneâs own terms â not out of scandal, but out of choice.
Whatever comes next for Cote de Pablo, her fans will follow â not for the glitz, but for the substance. Because in a world full of noise, she has always been about the quiet truth.
