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Personality
Abby is known for her gothic style of dress and her pigtailed dyed hair, with at least nine tattoos on her neck, arms, back, ankle and other places which are only hinted at; while some of the tattoos are real to the actress, some, such as the large cross on her back, is makeup applied for the occasions that Perrette shows her bare back on camera. The spider web on her neck is not real; producer Donald Bellisario wanted the character to have a tattoo that would be visible. Her usual style of clothing includes black dresses and t-shirts, mini-skirts, and goth jewelry. Anklets and toe rings often decorate her bare feet. She states several times that she sleeps in a coffin, and in episode "Hiatus", she says she has a hearse that has flat tires all the time. Despite her "dark" fashion sense, Abby has a happy-go-lucky attitude and a sweet personality.
Abby is a hearing child of a deaf mother and likes her music loud. Abby also, similarly to Gibbs, thrives on caffeine but unlike Gibbs, who drinks a lot of coffee, she prefers to have it in the form of a soda, called a "Caf-Pow". She gets rewards of Caf-Pows from Gibbs when she gives him answers. When changing the artwork in her lab, she states that she has a "Chagall feeling" - a reference to Marc Chagall, a Belo-Russian artist whose main works come from fantasy and dreams.
Background
Abby is from New Orleans, Louisiana where she graduated with full honors from LSU with a triple major in sociology, criminology and psychology. She earned her master's degree from Georgia State University in criminology and forensic science (Perrette also has a Master's Degree in Criminology, and has toured the real NCIS offices to meet with the real forensic specialists; the source of her interest in forensics is the same as her character's; living near a wrecking yard and being intrigued by the cause and effect of the wrecks).
Abby is well-versed in her field of study, rarely stumped by the puzzles which Gibbs' team present to her. Also, she does all the work on the evidence herself. In season 3, when she is given an "assistant", Chip Sterling, she revolts, but puts up with him.
Abby is 25+ years old. In "Model Behavior" (Season 3, Episode 11), Abby comments that she has been thinking about horrible ways to die "on and off for the last 25 years."
Relationships
She gets on well with all the rest of the team, particularly Tony, and is fond of Ducky who refers to her as "Abigail".
Uniquely, she shows no fear of Gibbs. Abby taught Gibbs some sign lanuage since she is a child of a deaf parent. Even though she and Gibbs are only co-workers, they have a father-daughter relationship. He shows this love to Abby since he lost his daughter and first wife in a car crash while he served in Desert Storm (both referenced to Ducky in Season 2 while trying to keep a serial masochist on death row). The kisses on the cheek and hugs they share with each other are present in many episodes, plus the fact that Gibbs brings her her favorite beverage, Caf-Pow, on many occasions. Gibbs also shows a tolerance for and a protectiveness over Abby, in particular when she is almost shot in Kill Ari Part 1, when the new regime (Season 3) attempts to force her to observe the dress code, and when her ex-boyfriend stalks her (Bloodbath).
Abby was a close friend of former team mate Caitlin Todd (Kate). References exist to them hanging out after work and Kate even having been talked into getting a tattoo. Abby was rigid towards Ziva at first, as Ziva was linked with Ari, who killed Kate (Silver War). Abby eventually came around and Ziva and she are friends.
She had a relationship with McGee which she stated that she would like to keep casual. Although the relationship ended early in season two, she has since exhibited jealousy over the attention that McGee gives to Ziva.
