But in 2017, she shocked fans by announcing she wouldn’t be returning to the popular crime show. At the time of the announcement, Perrette said it was a decision made a year earlier.

Since then, she has only appeared in the now defunct sitcom Broke, going from a fixture on television to rarely seen. Perrette now says she’ll “never again” return to acting.

“I’m not ungrateful for the benefits that it gave to me,” she said in an interview with HELLO! “But I’m a different person now and I want to be here for it – the good and the bad and the painful.”

“I want to be me all the time,” she continued. “And it takes a good amount of courage for me to say that to myself, but it’s authentically how I feel.”

Perrette starred in NCIS for 15 seasons.

Perrette has now drastically changed her trademark jet-black hair.

“At this point in my life I have this deep need to find authenticity in everything, and being an actor, especially at certain points in my life, was a great escape; it’s like a drug because I didn’t have to be me, I could be somebody else. My character didn’t have all of the problems that I was having.”

But Perrette hasn’t completely turned her back on the entertainment industry. She’s now producing films, specifically documentaries; her most recent project being Studio One Forever in 2023.

“It’s why I only watch documentaries, I want the truth. For me, going back to being an actor would be taking away from this life of true authenticity that I’m living 100 per cent of the time.”

Days after Perrette’s final NCIS episode aired in May 2017, she wrote on social media that she’d endured “multiple physical assaults,” implying that was the real reason she had exited the program.

Perrette on a 2015 red carpet. Picture: Getty Images

Perrette, seen here on September 27, now prefers life out of the spotlight. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty

Fans remained devastated, hoping she’d return, but the actress insisted she wouldn’t. In June 2019, Perrette implored the public to stop asking if she’d ever reprise her role, claiming she was “terrified” of former co-star Mark Harmon, “and him attacking me.”

There were reports that the two clashed on set because of a dog bite, but that has never been confirmed.

CBS later announced that Perrette had shared workspace concerns before exiting the show and that the network had investigated. Perrette expressed her appreciation for both the studio and the network.

NCIS is still on the air – its 22nd season premieres on screens this month.