María José de Pablo Fernández (born November 12, 1979) better known as Coté de Pablo, is a Chilean-American actress and recording artist. She is best known for her role as Ziva David on the CBS series NCIS. Born in Santiago, Chile, she moved to the United States at the age of 10, where she studied acting. At the age of 15, she co-hosted episodes of the Latin American talk show Control with former Entertainment Tonight host, Carlos Ponce, before attending Carnegie Mellon University to study music and theatre. After appearing in a number of small television roles, she was cast to portray main character Ziva David in the CBS television series NCIS in 2005. She won an ALMA Award for the role in 2011, and NCIS became the most watched television program in America during its tenth season in the 2012–13 year. She performed a portion of Tom Waits's song "Temptation" for a 2008 episode of NCIS. Outside of the series, she has acted as a vocalist for songs in Roberto Pitre's Vivo En Vida CD.
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Biography from TMDB.
- November 12, 1979 (46)
- Santiago, Chile
- Actor, also producer
- 6 on MovieCove · 11 credits in all
What are Cote de Pablo's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Survival.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
A split, not a type: Light 0 · Serious 2 · Dark 1
A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 1
Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 1
Steady 0 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1
A split, not a type: Resolved 2 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1
Roles they play
- Shapeshifteras Ziva David in NCIS (2003)
- Allyas Bruja in The Last Rites of Ransom Pride (2010)
- Heroas Shirah in The Dovekeepers (2015)
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet2
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Cote de Pablo's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Paramount+ (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Cote de Pablo's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
11 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
NCIS: Tony & Ziva(2025)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows
Seneca(2019)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all filmsPrototype (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
The 33(2015)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
The Dovekeepers(2015)
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films
Rachael Ray (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
The Jury (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
NCIS(2003)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows
The Education of Max Bickford (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
The $treet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Career shape
Star power in the 84th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 11 titles from 2000 to 2025; peak year 2015.
Film career
Peak 2015 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2003Screen debut· NCIS
- 2010First film· The Last Rites of Ransom Pride
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Cote de Pablo's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 71st percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 63rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th2
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 6 titles are Mixed.
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the acting 70/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 79, detractors 49. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Cote de Pablo's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Cote de Pablo work with?
People who share at least 2 of Cote de Pablo's MovieCove titles; Michael Weatherly shares the most, 2.
- Michael WeatherlyShared titles: NCIS: Tony & Ziva (2025), NCIS (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Weatherly
