Pauley Perrette remained close with her NCIS co-stars, including Brian Dietzen, in the years after she left the CBS series.
But, the actress tells HELLO! that despite those close friendships, she is most grateful for the impact her character Abby Sciuto had on a generation of young women, to the point where Pauley went on to set up two scholarships for undergraduate students in STEM.
© CBS"My character got so big internationally – as it should have been because she was wonderful – and that was not by accident. I put a lot of thought [into her] because I knew that she had the potential to be a wonderful role model to young girls," shares Pauley.
"I love the fact that she's this alternative girl, but she also bowls with nuns and she goes to church and she's a good girl. We ended up normalizing someone who looks a little different than [others], and that was the greatest takeaway from being on NCIS, this colossal effect that, to this day fact, Abby has had on young girls.
"They call it the Abby Effect, there's literally thousands and thousands of young women that have gone into math and science and into forensics because of the character that I played, and I have such immense pride and I feel so blessed by that. Those are the things that not only change lives, but change the world when we allow women to thrive in the areas of math and science."
© GettyIn 2018 Pauley launched the Pauley Perrette Scholarship at her alma-mater Valdosta State University which benefits female students majoring in criminal justice. "If young people via this scholarship actually go and become more little Abby's, then she literally does live forever and so does her influence, and in a real-life way, Abby," Pauley said at the time of the announcement.
Pauley studied criminal justice at the Georgia college and planned to go onto further education at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City, before she made her way into acting.
© GettyShe also set up the Pauley Perrette Forensic Science Scholarship at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice; the four-year scholarship supports entering undergraduate students traditionally underrepresented in the Forensic Sciences and covers $7,500 annually, renewable for four years.
It is still available for students now.
© CBS Photo ArchivePauley, 55, made her TV debut in the early 1990s but her work in NCIS from 2003 to 2018 brought her to mainstream fame.
The actress left the show after season 15 amid reports of a number of clashes behind the scenes with Mark Harmon, who played LeRoy Gibbs, and is now producing and directing documentaries, including Studio One Forever, telling the untold story of Los Angeles' iconic disco which became a beacon of hope for men in the 1970s and 1980s.
Her friendships with the cast however have remained strong, and she often shares snaps on social media of her time spent with Brian and his family.
"I mean personally, obviously it's bittersweet to say goodbye to someone professionally that you've been working with for 15 years. She's been a really close friend for a really long time. I think I have a lot of the same feelings as when Michael Weatherly left the show or when Cote de Pablo did, when she took her leave as well," Brian told CinemaBlend at the time.
