Cote de Pablo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cote de Pablo
Cote de Pablo at the 2011 ALMA Awards
Born	María José de Pablo Fernández (1979-11-12) November 12, 1979 (age 45) Santiago, Chile
Nationality	American
Education	Carnegie Mellon University (BFA)
Occupation	Actress, singer
Years active	1994–present
Known for	Ziva David on NCIS

María José de Pablo Fernández, known to many as Coté de Pablo (born November 12, 1979), is an actress and singer from Chile and the United States. She was born in Santiago, Chile. When she was 10 years old, she moved to the United States. There, she began her journey into acting.

At just 15, Cote co-hosted a TV talk show called Control. Later, she went to Carnegie Mellon University to study music and theater. After acting in several TV shows, she became famous for playing Ziva David in the CBS series NCIS in 2005. She even won an ALMA Award for this role in 2011.

She also loves to sing! Cote performed a song by Tom Waits for an episode of NCIS. She has also sung on music CDs outside of her acting work.

Cote de Pablo's Early Life and Education

Cote was born in Santiago, Chile. Her parents are Francisco de Pablo and María Olga Fernández. She has a younger sister named Andrea and a brother named Francisco, who is a DJ. When Cote was 10, her mom got a job in Miami, Florida, at a Spanish-language TV network.

In Miami, Cote went to Arvida Middle School and New World School of the Arts. She focused on musical theater there. In fifth grade, many people found her first name, "María José," hard to say. So, she asked them to call her "Coté," which is a common nickname for María José in Chile.

Later, Cote attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She studied music and theater and acted in many plays. These included The Fantasticks and A Little Night Music. She earned her degree in Musical Theater in 2000.

Cote de Pablo's Acting Career

Starting Out in Acting

Cote began her career in entertainment when she was 15. She hosted some episodes of a talk show called Control from 1994 to 1995. She worked alongside Carlos Ponce on this show.

After college, Cote moved to New York City to become an actress. She worked as a waitress to support herself while looking for acting jobs. In 2000, she appeared in TV shows like The $treet and The Education of Max Bickford. She also acted in plays and commercials. Cote played Marguerite Cisneros in The Jury, a show that only aired 10 episodes. In 2005, she almost made her big debut on Broadway in a show called The Mambo Kings. However, the show closed early.

Becoming Ziva David on NCIS

Cote de Pablo in 2007

Cote de Pablo is best known for her role as Ziva David on the TV show NCIS. Ziva was an Israeli agent who later became an NCIS agent. Cote sent in a video audition for the part. Two days after her Broadway show was canceled, she was asked to fly to Los Angeles for a screen test.

During her audition, she acted with Michael Weatherly, who plays Tony DiNozzo on the show. They wanted to see if they had good chemistry. Michael went off script and brushed her hair back, saying she reminded him of Salma Hayek. Cote stayed in character and ignored him completely. After this, the show's producer, Donald P. Bellisario, told her she got the part!

Cote described Ziva as "someone completely different." She said Ziva was used to being around strong men and wasn't afraid of them.

Cote won an Imagen Award in 2006 for Best Supporting Actress in Television for her role on NCIS. She was nominated for more awards in 2008 and 2009. In 2011, she won the ALMA Award for Favorite Television Actress in a Drama.

On July 10, 2013, CBS announced that Cote would be leaving NCIS. She stayed long enough to finish Ziva's story at the start of season 11. Later, Cote explained that she left because she felt the stories for her character were not as exciting as she hoped.

Cote hinted that Ziva could return because her character didn't actually die. However, in the season 13 finale, it seemed Ziva had died in an explosion. But then, in 2019, a season 16 episode revealed that Ziva was alive and in hiding! Cote made a surprise return in the last scene of the season 16 finale. She warned Gibbs that his life was in danger. Producers confirmed she would appear in several episodes of season 17.

Other Roles After NCIS

In 2014, Cote acted in the movie The 33. This film was about the 2010 Copiapó mining accident in Chile. She played the wife of one of the trapped miners. She also appeared in the 2015 CBS miniseries The Dovekeepers.

In 2018, Cote and her former NCIS co-star Michael Weatherly were announced as executive producers for a new detective show called MIA. However, this series did not go into production.

In 2024, exciting news came out! Cote de Pablo will play Ziva David again in a new NCIS spin-off series. It's called NCIS: Tony & Ziva and will be on Paramount+. Michael Weatherly will also return as Tony DiNozzo.

Cote de Pablo's Music Career

Cote de Pablo has a talent for singing! She performed a part of Tom Waits' song "Temptation" on an NCIS episode called "Last Man Standing" in 2008. Her full performance of the song, which includes some French lyrics, is on the NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack.

She also sings on Roberto Pitre's CD Vivo en vida. On this album, she sings "Samba in Prelude" and "Cry Me a River". Cote was also featured on the official soundtrack for the movie The 33, singing "Gracias a la Vida".

Cote de Pablo's Personal Life

Cote de Pablo was in a long-term relationship with actor Diego Serrano. They were together for many years but separated in June 2015.

Cote de Pablo's Film and Television Roles

Other Media

Notes

Awards and Nominations

Images for kids

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  Cote de Pablo at the 2011 ALMA Awards

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  Cote de Pablo in 2007

See also

In Spanish: Coté de Pablo para niños