Grissom was born on August 17, 1956 in Santa Monica, California to a middle-class family and grew up in Marina Del Rey, California. His father was a botanist and his mother ran an art gallery in Venice. Grissom's father died when he was nine years old, most likely from heat stroke. His father inspired his love of the natural sciences.Grissom's mother was deaf and because of this, he knows sign language and can lip read. He inherited his mother's otosclerosis, a disease which nearly led to the loss of his hearing. But he underwent corrective surgery and his hearing problems have never resurfaced.
He became the night shift team supervisor for the Las Vegas CSI unit on the second episode of the series, after Jim Brass got demoted following the death of co-worker Holly Gribbs. In season 7, Grissom took a sabbatical to teach a class at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts for four weeks. Prior to his sabbatical, Grissom had been showing signs of "burnout". Upon his return, however, he appears reinvigorated and tells Warrick Brown that he "missed" Las Vegas."
Grissom has always been portrayed as the father figure of the team, the leader who can be perceived as cold and emotionless, but who is fiercely loyal to his CSIs and passionate about his work. Early episodes revealed Grissom to be a witty, enthusiastic and quirky scientist, who had some sense of humor (used to have a Big Mouth Billy Bass over his door). He flirted regularly and seemed to be constantly on a hyperactive state. In addition to being somewhat of a polymath beyond his career training, he exhibits Asperger-like traits, and in a season 2 episode it is hinted that, in fact, he has Asperger's syndrome.Being an entomologist, he has a wide and varied knowledge of insects, which he applies to his investigations. This has led to his nickname, "The Bug Man". In the beginning of the show, he was referred as "Gruesome Grissom" for his sometimes morbid fascination with the more bizarre aspects of man and nature. Grissom keeps a variety of specimens in his office, including a radiated fetal pig, a tarantula, and a two headed scorpion.
Grissom has been allegedly involved with forensic anthropologist Teri Miller and with S&M parlor operator Lady Heather, whose "safeword" he knows. Since CSI's 1st season there were hints that both Sara Sidle and Grissom were interested in each other romantically, in fact creators made Sara Sidle while thinking of a future love interest for Grissom, but during the show's first three seasons Grissom flirted with all the female characters, and when Sara asked him out to dinner he rejected her, claiming that he does not know what to do about what is going on between them.In season four Grissom's true feelings are revealed in "Butterflied", an episode that centers entirely around him discovering his sentiments for Sara. It was then that he admitted not being able to risk his career to be with her.It was not until the 6th season finale that it is revealed that Grissom and Sara have worked through whatever issues they had, and are, in fact, a couple, and have been for two years.
Throughout season 7 the audience sees Grissom and Sara as a couple, but the relationship is kept secret from the others in the lab until Sara's abduction by The Miniature Killer in the season finale. During the 2007-2008 season, season eight, they have become engaged to be married. In CSIs eighth season, when Jorja Fox decided to leave the show, both she and the writers decided not to kill the character, so as to leave the doors open for a possible comeback. Consequently, Sara Sidle is submerged into depression after her kidnap in the season 7 finale, and, eventhough she accepts Grissom's marriage proposal on the season's 4th episode, she shows signs of burnout during the subsequent episodes, breaking down on the season's 7th episode, leaving Las Vegas and the CSI's with only a goodbye letter for Grissom.
