Skip to main content

NCIS fans are very familiar with Mark Harmon’s work. The Leroy Jethro Gibbs actor starred in the iconic procedural from 2003 to 2021, and he’ll forever be remembered for his role. While fans know Harmon for network television, they also know him for his long-lasting marriage to his wife, Pam Dawber. Here’s what he said about his relationship with Dawber during their first year of marriage.

‘NCIS’ star Mark Harmon said this about his wife, Pam Dawber, during their first year of marriage

NCIS star Mark Harmon and fellow actor Pam Dawber married in March 1987. Before Harmon met Dawber, his friend wanted to set them up on a group date. But Harmon had other ideas and cold-called Dawber to see if she wanted to grab coffee on a date. She agreed, and the rest is history.

Harmon discussed his marriage to Dawber in a 1987 interview during their first year as a married couple. The interviewer asked Harmon how married life changed his “perspective” on the rest of his life.

“I don’t know that it does,” he answered, according to the interview posted to YouTube. “We’re both very individual people. We’re both very strong people. And our careers go in very different directions. I don’t like being away from home very much, but I’ve never liked that anyway. So, I don’t see how it changes a whole lot.”

The interviewer asked about Harmon’s home improvement projects, and she questioned if Dawber helps. “She’s good at picking out the color schemes,” Harmon joked at first. “But, no, she likes to get her elbows dirty and get in there afterwards. It’s part of what I admire about her.”

Mark Harmon gave this marriage advice

Mark Harmon and his wife, Pam Dawber, standing next to each other at an event. Dawber is looking over her shoulder at the camera.
Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber | Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images
Related

Will Mark Harmon Return to ‘NCIS’? Here’s His 1 Condition

NCIS star Mark Harmon claims he doesn’t have many secrets regarding his successful marriage to Pam Dawber.

“I have no secret,” he told People. We laugh. You got to laugh, and you got to talk and communicate. That’s the fun part. Do we sit and talk about it? No. Maybe you just get fortunate and find the right one. We share many things, and yet we’re really different.”

Harmon, Dawber, and their two kids (both in their 30s) tend to keep away from social media, too. The family loves maintaining their privacy, which likely helps Harmon and Dawber’s marriage.

“It’s not even a choice. It’s who we are,” Mark told Closer Weekly. “We stay home. A lot. I’m not a Twitter guy or a Facebook guy. Our sons aren’t into that, either.”

Pam Dawber said she didn’t want to ‘chase fame’ once she had kids

Like NCIS star Mark Harmon, Pam Dawber prefers to keep a low profile. While she had an incredibly successful acting career, she knew her priorities would change once she had kids.

“I was in a number one show,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “I had my own deal; I got to do Broadway, I got to do musical theater, I got to do cartoon voices. I did everything you can do in this business, and then I had children, and it’s like, ‘I’m not going to chase this fame thing.'”

She noted that instead of thrusting her kids into the spotlight, she wanted to give them a normal childhood. “I wanted to drive my kids to school. I wanted to be there for their birthdays and bring cupcakes and donuts and do the school festivals and all that, and I did,” Dawber added. “I got to teach in their art class, and so it was a different life then, and I was very happy to do it.”

While Dawber and Harmon have their differences, they both agreed to have a life outside of the spotlight — and it’s clearly treated them very well.

For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.

Best in Entertainment