Five Fast Facts About Ziva David on NCIS

Ziva David, a former Israeli Mossad officer, may have one of the most interesting upbringings out of all the NCIS characters. From where she grew up to what she had to witness at such a young age, there’s really nothing Ziva hasn’t been through.

While it seemed like she was gone for good after supposedly being killed, it looks like she is back and better than ever! Here are five important facts you should know about Ziva David (Cote de Pablo).

Sibling Tragedies
Ziva grew up in Israel and had an older half-brother named Ari and a younger sister named Tali. Tragically, when Tali was 16, she died in a Hamas suicide bombing. Ari went on to kill Special Agent Kate Todd, who Ziva ended up replacing on the team after she herself killed Ari when he was about to kill Gibbs.

Special Bond Part I
Ziva was a part of Mossad where her father Eli was a Deputy Director. After 9/11, she worked ops with future NCIS director, Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly), and saved Jenny’s life at one point. After she helped deal with Ari, Jenny invited Ziva to be a part of NCIS in the special position of Liaison Officer.

Special Bond Part II
Ziva and Gibbs have a very special bond. She profiled him for Ari so she was the first to uncover that his wife and daughter were murdered. She killed her brother to save him. When he lost his memory, she helped bring it back. He returned from retirement to save her. He’s a father figure to her and his affectionately calls her Ziver.

Held as Prisoner
Back in 2009, Ziva was held as prisoner in Somalia, but the NCIS group was able to save her. She then decided to leave the Mossad for good (mostly because of her bad relationship with her father) and joined NCIS as a Probationary Agent and even eventually becomes a United States citizen.

Presumed Dead
In May 2016, Ziva was believed dead after a mortar attack in Israel, though her body was never actually found. It was revealed that she’d had a daughter with former NCIS partner Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) that she named Tali, after her sister. Tony left NCIS to be a fulltime dad to their daughter (and possibly to be with Ziva in Paris).