Who is Emily Wickersham? Everything to know as the actress returns to NCIS

After being gone for a few years, Emily Wickersham, who is known for playing Eleanor "Ellie" Bishop on NCIS, has officially come back to the franchise. Since she appeared at the end of the episode, "Heaven and Nature" fans have been curious.

Emily Wickersham is an American actress who joined the cast in Season 11 and was originally there to replace Ziva David. During her eight-season run, she changed from an NSA analyst to a tough field agent. Besides her work on this popular crime drama, she has been on well-known shows like The Sopranos and Gossip Girl.

Bishop left in the Season 18 finale for a secret undercover mission. Now she's back and it's not how fans thought she would be. 

Emily Wickersham, the character of Eleanor "Ellie" Bishop, returns to NCIS

After being gone for a few years, Emily Wickersham, Eleanor "Ellie" Bishop, has officially come back to the franchise. In reality, Odette Malone had hired her for a long-term undercover job. She had to leave her life behind for this mission, including her new romance with Nick Torres, without saying goodbye.

In the Season 23 fall finale, Director Vance gives Jessica Knight a high-priority mission for the Elite unit. The target is none other than Bishop herself. Showrunner Steven D. Binder revealed that in an interview with TV Insider on December 16, 2025,

"She’s been in a very serious life-or-death situation. She’s seen some very scary stuff and some very hairy stuff. She’s not the same person that [she was when] she left. She is a very different person. The world has beaten her up, and maybe a little too much, let’s put it that way. So, friends are enemies, enemies are friends in the world she’s in, and that’s how she views the world now, I think. And when she comes back, to people who were previously her friends, we may have to wonder where her head’s really at."

When asked why Bishop is coming back this way to NCIS, Binder replied,

"We wanted her back, and once we started hearing that she might be interested, we were like, OK, well, we can start really seriously thinking about the things that we’ve been doing. And one of the things that’s going on with the show is we’re exploring some relationships between our characters and some interesting mixing and matching. And we thought bringing Bishop in for Torres at this particular moment would upend an apple cart that’s coming down the pike after this episode airs and put a very interesting spin on it. Plus, he never got the closure that he felt he needed. And it was an abrupt departure."

Emily Wickersham: Exploring more about the actress

Emily Wickersham is a flexible American actress who built a varied body of work in both TV shows and movies before her career-defining role on NCIS. She found her love of performing after signing up for acting classes in New York City. She did this to get over her childhood fear of speaking in front of people.

Wickersham has had guest roles on Gossip Girl and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, among other well-known shows. Her film credits show off her range; she's been in the action sci-fi film I Am Number Four, the romantic drama Remember Me, and the thriller Gone.

In 2013, she joined the cast of NCIS as Eleanor Bishop. She did well in this role, which was stressful, and became a fan favorite. Wickersham's return to the franchise shows how much of an impact she's had as an actress, as she is known for her natural acting and strong presence on-screen.

NCIS episodes are available to stream on CBS.