Cote de Pablo biography

Synopsis

Profile

Actress. Born Maria Jose de Pablo Fernandez on November 12, 1979, in Santiago, Chile, Cote de Pablo is best known for her role as federal agent Ziva David on the CBS crime drama NCIS.

When she was 10, Cote de Pablo and her family moved to Miami, Florida, where her mother landed a job on the Spanish-language television channel, Telemundo. Once in the United States, de Pablo began to focus her education on music and theater, including studying at Carnegie Melon University.

While at Carnegie Melon, de Pablo appeared in several plays including The House of Bernarda Alba, Cloud Techtonics, Indescretions, The Fantasticks, And The World Goes 'Round and A Little Night Music. De Pablo graduated from Carnegie Melon in 2000 with a BFA in Acting and Musical Theater.

The actress' first big break was when she was the co-host of a Latin themed television talk show, Control, with co-host Carlos Ponce. De Pablo hosted the show off-and-on from 1994 to 1995 on the Univision network. Then in 2001, de Pablo appeared in the New York City Public Theater production of Measure for Measure. After two years with the theater, she moved into small television roles on such shows as The Education of Max Bickford, All My Children, Fling and The $treet.

In 2004, de Pablo appeared in a Volkswagen commercial, and starred in a short-lived television series on Fox called The Jury. The show only lasted for 10 episodes before it was canceled. The next year, Cote made her Broadway debut in The Mambo Kings, playing the role of Dolores Fuentes. But her big break came later that year when she landed a starring role as Mossad Officer Ziva David on the CBS crime drama, NCIS.

Her performance won Cote de Pablo her first major award in 2006 when she was given the Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2008, Cote de Pablo was nominated for two more awards: the Alma Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Television Series and another Imogen Award for Best Supporting Actress.

De Pablo continues to star on NCIS, and appeared in the 2009 film The Last Rites of Ransom Pride, with co-stars Jason Priestly and Kris Kristofferson among others.

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