Pauley Perrette is holding on to her retirement from acting.

The 55 year old actress, known for her role in NCIS for 15 years, has not appeared on television since her 2020 CBS sitcom, Broke.

In a new interview Pauley spoke about why she has no plans to return to acting.

Read on to find out more…

“I am not ungrateful for the benefits it has brought me,” she shared Hello!. “But I’m a different person now and I want to be there for everything – the good, the bad and the painful. I want to be myself all the time, and it takes a lot of courage to tell myself that, but it’s authentic to how I feel.”

“At this point in my life I feel a deep need to find authenticity in everything and being an actor, especially at certain points in my life, has been a great escape; It’s like a drug because I didn’t have to be myself, I could be someone else. “My character didn’t have all the problems that I had.” Pauley added. “That’s why I only watch documentaries, I want the truth. For me, returning to acting would mean a loss of this life of real authenticity that I live 100%.”

Pauley announced about two years ago that she suffered a serious stroke in 2021.

Her last public appearance was in Los Angeles LGBT Center Gala back in April 2023.