The Transformation Of Cote De Pablo From Childhood To NCIS

Born María José de Pablo Fernández in Santiago, Chile, de Pablo and her family moved to Miami, Florida after her mother got a job at a Spanish-language television network. When she first moved to the United States, other kids had trouble pronouncing María José, so de Pablo told them to call her Cote, which is a traditional nickname for María José. As a child, de Pablo loved music and entertainment, but her drive for the arts didn't really start until she attended an elective drama class in middle school.

Speaking with Carnegie Mellon Today, de Pablo shared that the drama class helped her with her English speaking, while also pushing her to get over social anxiety. De Pablo reminisced about her childhood, saying, "I remember, I was on stage in a scene and something happened, and I called somebody 'a bastard,' [...] and my teacher took me offstage, gave me detention. I said to myself, 'There's something very wrong with this class. ...People must express themselves on stage and have to be able to get it all out there.' I knew I just needed to find the proper class." After middle school, de Pablo attended New World School of the Arts, pursuing her newfound passion. Then at only 15 years old, de Pablo worked as a co-host for the Latin-American talk show Control. She hosted episodes along with Carlos Ponce, a former host of Entertainment Tonight. 

Early on, de Pablo found the direction she wanted her life to go in and worked for it, leading her down the path to NCIS and a successful acting career.