If you're part of the Reagan family, chances are you'll end up on the police force one day. Fealty to the badge is passed down from generation to generation, so it's little wonder that Nicky Reagan-Boyle (Sami Gayle) would want to follow in the footsteps of her uncles, Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) and Jamie (Will Estes), her grandfather, Frank (Tom Selleck), and her great-grandfather, Henry (Len Cariou).
Nicky is the child of Frank's only daughter, Assistant District Attorney Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan), and her ex-husband, defense attorney Jack Boyle (Peter Herrmann). Just like her mother was the only sister in a family of boys, Nicky is the only female grandchild. Her determination to become the first female family member to join the force proves this apple doesn't fall far from the tree. She often clashes with her family's painfully outdated views of law enforcement, expressing her desires to help change the NYPD for the better. She eventually attends Columbia University before taking the police exam.
Although Gayle was a frequent presence throughout the show's first ten seasons — bumping up to series regular for Season 5 — she only made one appearance each in seasons 11 and 13, and was completely missing in Season 12. Her absence was explained as Nicky accepting a job in San Francisco, but in a bit of art imitating life, it appeared as though Gayle wanted to step away for a while after juggling her hectic shooting schedule with full-time enrollment at Columbia University. Hope springs eternal that viewers haven't seen the last of her.
