The Stunning Transformation Of Cote De Pablo
Lifestyle - News
By KELSIE CALDERON
Childhood in Chile
When Cote de Pablo of "NCIS" fame was 10 years old, her mom was offered a job to host a television show in Miami, so the family left their hometown of Santiago, Chile. De Pablo went on to attend an American performing arts school, and says this gave her a “way to communicate with people in [her] new country.”
Like mom, like daughter
After a producer saw de Pablo's photo on her mom's desk, he asked if the 14-year-old would be interested in being on TV. De Pablo got the opportunity to host the Spanish-language magazine show "Control," and says she soon realized she wanted to "make a living by singing and acting and doing musicals."
Carnegie Mellon
De Pablo picked Pennsylvania university Carnegie Mellon as the place to begin her musical theater studies. Besides learning a great deal about singing and acting, de Pablo also says she felt "understood” by her professors and the school's environment was supportive, and she graduated in 2000.
Broadway (almost)
After graduation, de Pablo had her sights set on Broadway, and in 2005, she was almost cast in the musical "The Mambo Kings." Sadly, the show never even made it to Broadway, but that same year, de Pablo landed a screen test for a starring role in a new television show titled "NCIS."
Breakout role on NCIS
At her final audition for "NCIS," de Pablo had to read with Michael Weatherly, who "grabbed [her] hair" and "went off script," causing her to swat him away; this set the dynamic between her character and his. De Pablo landed the role of Ziva David, and had to learn a long monologue in Hebrew for the part.