What Happened To Cote De Pablo After Her NCIS Exit?

"NCIS" has seen many cast shake-ups across its multiple-decade run, and one of the toughest for fans to swallow was the departure of Special Agent Ziva David (Cote de Pablo). She joined the cast for Season 3 and was soon upgraded to a main role, which she retained until Season 11. De Pablo has kept a low profile since leaving "NCIS," but there are still a few places where audiences have been able to catch her. 

She starred alongside Rachel Brosnahan and Sam Neill on the TV miniseries "The Dovekeepers." The "NCIS" star also had a role in the 2015 movie "The 33," which follows the true ordeal of a group of miners who became trapped for over two months after a mine collapse. Fans will probably also be aware that de Pablo didn't stay away from "NCIS" for too long.

Ziva David came back to "NCIS" for Seasons 16 and 17 for one last arc. In fact, Season 17's "In the Wind" could be considered the ultimate Ziva episode of "NCIS," as the character finally gets closure after being presumed dead following her initial exit. Aside from a few acting gigs, fans are likely to come up empty-handed if they try to glean more about de Pablo's personal life outside of "NCIS."

Cote de Pablo has spoken out about why she left "NCIS" in the first place, with it primarily coming down to how her character's stories were being handled. Later, she backtracked a bit, leaving fans hanging with the nebulous statement "I didn't leave because I wanted to go or because I was ready or because I was tired. I didn't really have an option." The fact she came back to "NCIS" shows things must've still been all right between her and the crew, but aside from that and a few other roles here and there, fans may have a tough time figuring out where de Pablo is in life. 

The actor isn't active on social media. During a conversation with "Build Series," she explained how posting everything online simply isn't appealing to her. "I'm not saying 'no' to [social media]," she explained. "I've never said, 'Ah, no!' But when I'm having fun, I'm not taking pictures of myself. I'm just having fun!" As such, there's not much to see of what de Pablo is up to outside of "NCIS" and other projects. 

As for what's next for Cote de Pablo, it remains a mystery, like many things in her life. She doesn't seem to have much lined up in terms of future projects. A return to "NCIS" could be in the cards at some point, perhaps with Ziva returning to pay her respects to the dearly departed Ducky (David McCallum). For now, de Pablo's doing her own thing, and that's just fine.