‘NCIS’ Alum Pauley Perrette Shares 85th Birthday Video for Her Dad Who She’s Unable to Visit Due to COVID-19 Restrictions

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic may be forcing families to remain apart during the holiday season, but that isn’t stopping Pauley Perrette from helping her father ring in a new year. In late November, the NCIS alum sent a heartwarming video to her dad, Paul Perrette, as he celebrated his 85th birthday.

Sharing a brief clip of the video with her Twitter followers, Perrette began the video with a chipper, “happy birthday” to her father, admitting that she misses him “so much.” The actress, who portrayed Abby Sciuto on NCIS, donned a shirt reading “Daddy’s Girl” in the video and said that she wishes she could “hold your hand.” She also said that she wishes she could hug her father.

The actress, who noted that “this is the first time in like a decade that we haven’t seen each other” on her father’s birthday, went on to reveal that she and “a bunch of people who love you and your friend Wheelz” came together to create a truly unique and special gift to make her father feel closer to them on his birthday. The video, only the intro of which she shared, is “kind of like your birthdays past and a bunch of other stuff to make you happy,” Perrette revealed. Telling her father that she hopes “you enjoy what we did” and “I love you,” she went on to sing “Happy Birthday” before concluding with another “I love you.”

Perrette’s father should certainly be feeling the love, because the video prompted an outpouring of birthday messages from the actress’ followers. One person responded by writing, “wishing him a very happy birthday in this most unconventional time.” Another commented, “biggest birthday wishes to your dad! That was the sweetest intro to his birthday video.”

Paul’s birthday celebrations this year are vastly different from when he turned 84. In 2019, he had traveled from his home in Alabama to join his daughter on the set of her now-canceled CBS comedy Broke, where Perrette decided to gift him another special present: she decided to sing a rendition of his favorite song, “Because He Lives.” The actress had shared a video of the special moment to Twitter, showing her holding her dad as she sang and him eventually joining in. Perrette, marking her father’s 85th birthday, reshared the video, noting that her father “loves it” and adding, “wow, how things have changed.”