For 15 seasons, Pauley Perrette was synonymous with her character Abby Sciuto, a forensic specialist on "NCIS."

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.

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"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."

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"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% 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.

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. 

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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 – it's 22nd season premieres on Oct. 14.

The five people killed aboard a single-engine plane that crashed and caught fire at Wright Brothers National Memorial’s First Flight Airport in North Carolina over the weekend have been identified, officials said Tuesday.

The National Park Service (NPS) identified the victims as Shashwat Ajit Adhikari, 31, of Silver Spring, Maryland; Jason Ray Campbell, 43, Southern Pines, North Carolina; Kate McAllister Neely, 39, of Southern Pines, North Carolina; Matthew Arthur Fassnacht, 44, of Marietta, Georgia; and a 6-year-old child, whose name was not provided.

"National Park Service employees at Wright Brothers National Memorial, Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (Outer Banks Group) extend their deepest condolences to the families, friends and loved ones affected by this tragedy," David Hallac, superintendent of the Outer Banks Group, said in a statement.

The Cirrus SR-22 airplane crashed around 5 p.m. Saturday in a wooded area near the airstrip, which is located near the town of Kill Devil Hills in the Outer Banks.

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Witnesses reported that the airplane was attempting to land at the airport when the aircraft crashed and sparked a fire that caused the plane to burn, according to officials.

The Kill Devil Hills Fire Department and other local fire departments helped to extinguish the flames, but there were no survivors.

Campbell was a decorated lieutenant colonel assigned to the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, according to Stars and Stripes. He had about 19 years of active-duty service and served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2006.

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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the crash, and the Federal Aviation Administration was notified.

"We’re here to figure out what happened, why it happened and how we can prevent it from happening again," NTSB investigator Ryan Enders told reporters Sunday.

NTSB expects to release a preliminary crash report within 10 days, though the full investigation into what caused the crash could take between nine months and a year.

The Wright Brothers National Memorial was constructed in the area where Wilbur and Orville Wright conducted "a series of experiments that three years later resulted in the world’s first heavier than air, powered controlled flight," according to NPS.