Ziva David

Ziva David
זיוה דוד
NCIS character
Ziva David in the Season 3 episode, "Silver War".
First appearance"Kill Ari (Part I)" (3.01)
September 20, 2005
Created byDonald P. Bellisario
Portrayed byCote de Pablo
Gabi Coccio (teenage Ziva; flashbacks only)
Voiced byErin Bennett (NCIS: The Video Game)[1]
In-universe information
GenderFemale
OccupationNCIS Special Agent
Mossad Liaison Officer
Mossad operative, control officer
Soldier in the Israeli Army
FamilyEli David (father, deceased)
Rivka David (mother, deceased)
Ari Haswari (paternal half brother, deceased)
Tali David (sister, deceased)[2]
Significant otherAnthony DiNozzo
ChildrenTali (daughter; with Anthony DiNozzo)
ReligionJewish
NationalityIsraeli American
Career at NCIS
PositionSpecial Agent (seasons 7–11)
Mossad Liaison Officer (seasons 3–7)
RankJunior field agent
Probationary field agent season 7
Years of Servicec. 2005–2013

Ziva David (/ˈziːvə dəˈviːd/; Hebrew: זיוה דוד, pronounced [ˈziva daˈvid], feminine form of Ziv: "Radiance"; birth date November 12, 1982, Beersheba in the Negev desert of southern Israel)[2][3] is a fictional character from the CBS television series NCIS, portrayed by actress Cote de Pablo. Ziva first appeared in the season 3 premiere episode, "Kill Ari (Part 1)", and became a regular cast member from the episode "Silver War". She replaced Caitlin "Kate" Todd (Sasha Alexander), who was killed at the hands of Ziva's half-brother, Ari Haswari (Rudolf Martin), in the season 2 finale. Following the onscreen death of the character's father in season 10, Gabi Coccio recurrently portrayed a young Ziva in flashbacks.

Ziva is introduced to the show as an Israeli citizen, an agent of the Kidon unit of the Mossad, a daughter of Mossad Director Eli David, and a friend of NCIS Director Jenny Shepard. She was assigned to NCIS as a liaison officer in an arrangement between Eli and Jenny, a position she held for four years until she returned to Mossad in the season 6 finale, "Aliyah". After being captured by terrorists in Somalia while on assignment for Mossad and presumed dead, she was eventually saved by Gibbs, Tony, and McGee, who brought her back to America.[4] These events led to her resigning from Mossad, applying to become an NCIS agent, and being sworn in as a U.S. citizen.[4]

On July 10, 2013, CBS television studios announced that Cote de Pablo would be leaving NCIS during season 11.[5] That fall, De Pablo appeared in two episodes as a series regular to wrap up her character's storyline. In season 13, Ziva was apparently killed off screen,[6] though executive producer and show runner Gary Glasberg suggested that she might still be alive.[7] In season 16, Ziva was confirmed to still be alive, and De Pablo returned in season 17 as a guest star for several episodes.

Outside of fiction, the cultural impact of Ziva became a subject of discussion among various critics, with academics and rabbis weighing in on the matter. Newspapers such as The Jerusalem Post cited her as the only full-time Israeli character on an American mainstream network television show,[8] and Harvard preceptor Eitan Kensky identified her as the "most prominent televisual Israeli" in the United States.[9] Her depiction was generally praised for exposing the Western public to Israeli society and culture,[10] its positive portrayal of an Israeli, and its "cheerleading for American ties to Israel".[11] The role made de Pablo the second most popular actress on U.S. primetime television in 2013, according to Q Score,[12] and a 2013 study by E-Poll Market Research listed her among the top 10 most appealing celebrities in America.[13]

  1. ^ "Voice Of Ziva David - NCIS: The Video Game | Behind The Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 25, 2017. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  2. ^ a b . She was born in Be'er Sheva, Israel."Dead Air". NCIS. Season 8. Episode 5. October 19, 2010. 21:12 minutes in. CBS.
  3. ^ "The Inside Man". NCIS. Season 7. Episode 3. October 6, 2009. 42:49 minutes in. CBS.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Yahoo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Bill Keveney (July 11, 2013). "Cote de Pablo to leave 'NCIS'". USA Today. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  6. ^ "Family First". NCIS. Season 13. Episode 24. May 17, 2016. Event occurs at 09:41. CBS. DiNozzo: "What do we know? What are the facts? 'Cause we don't assume, we verify. Do we know she's dead? 'Cause if we know she's dead, we're gonna get him." Gibbs: "Yeah, she's dead, and we will get Kort."
  7. ^ Evans, Greg (May 18, 2016). "'NCIS' Showrunner Gary Glasberg On A Future Without Michael Weatherly – And Whether Ziva Is Really Dead". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jerusalem Post was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Kensky, Eitan (February 22, 2011). "On NCIS, the 'New Jew' Is Much Like the Old". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  10. ^ Tamir, Ariel (January 31, 2013). Israeli Spy Characters Infiltrate Popular American Television Shows Archived January 4, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Yahoo! Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  11. ^ Smith, Kyle (May 12, 2012). Why 'NCIS' is TV's most popular show Archived June 30, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. New York Post. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  12. ^ "'NCIS' Star Pauley Perrette Named Most Popular Primetime TV Star". HuffPost. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  13. ^ "Actress Betty White named America's most appealing celebrity". Reuters. April 10, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2013.