# Emily Procter
**Emily Procter** is an American film and television actress, born in 1968 in [Raleigh, North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/raleigh-north-carolina), best known for playing Ainsley Hayes on the NBC political drama *The West Wing* and Detective Calleigh Duquesne on the CBS forensic drama *CSI: Miami* from 2002 to 2012.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/bio/) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/21736/emily-procter) Her full birth name is Emily Mallory Procter.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/bio/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1968, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/bio/) |
| Breakout role | Ainsley Hayes, the lone Republican on the White House staff, on *The West Wing* from 2000[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter) |
| Signature role | CSI Detective Calleigh Duquesne on *CSI: Miami*, 2002 to 2012, 232 episodes[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/) |
| Early career | Weather reporter at the Greenville, North Carolina CBS affiliate; first Hollywood speaking role in *Great Scott* (Fox, 1992)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/bio/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter) |
| Films | *Leaving Las Vegas* (1995), *Jerry Maguire* (1996), *Breast Men* (1997), *Guinevere* (1999), *Body Shots* (1999), *Big Momma's House 2* (2006)[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter) |
| Later television | Amanda Callaway on *[White Collar](https://www.edgepedia.org/white-collar-tv-series)* (2013, 2 episodes); narrator in *A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote* (2020)[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/) |
| Nonprofit work | Founded The Ground in 2019, offering programs at Kern Valley State Prison and elsewhere[5](https://emilyprocter.com/the-ground) |
## Early life and education
Procter is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, who attended [East Carolina University](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-carolina-university). She tried to join the university's theater department, but it was full, so she studied journalism and dance instead. While working on her degrees she took a job as a weather presenter on the Greenville CBS affiliate.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter) Before acting, she was also promoted to crime reporter at a local station, but left soon afterward because the work was, in her words, too gory.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/bio/)
After graduation she moved to Los Angeles, where her father paid for two years of acting classes.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter) Her first Hollywood speaking role came in the short-lived Fox series *Great Scott* in 1992, starring [Tobey Maguire](https://www.edgepedia.org/tobey-maguire).[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter)
## Early film and television roles
Through the mid-1990s Procter accumulated small parts and guest appearances. She had a small role in *Leaving Las Vegas* (1995) and appeared that year on NBC's *Friends* as Annabel.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/21736/emily-procter) A string of guest spots followed, including *Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman*, *Early Edition*, and a 1997 turn as an anchorwoman on NBC's *Just Shoot Me*.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter)
Her film work in the same period included playing one of [Tom Cruise](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-cruise)'s ex-girlfriends in *Jerry Maguire* (1996), a part in the HBO movie *Breast Men* (1997) opposite [David Schwimmer](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-schwimmer), and roles in *The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!* (1997), *Family Plan* (1998), *Body Shots* (1999), the mockumentary *The Big Tease* (1999), and the well-reviewed *Guinevere* (1999).[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter) On Rotten Tomatoes, *Guinevere* is her highest-rated film at 85 percent, and *The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!* sits at 87 percent, while *Big Momma's House 2* is her lowest at 5 percent.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter)
## The West Wing
Procter's profile rose when she joined *The West Wing* in 2000 as Ainsley Hayes, an ultra-verbal, tough-minded associate White House counsel, the lone Republican on President Jeb Bartlet's staff and a potential love interest for [Rob Lowe](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-lowe)'s Sam Seaborn.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter) The character provided a conservative political counterpoint within a left-leaning ensemble, and Procter said she valued how the show handled that contrast: it showed, in her words, respect for the rainbow of politics, though her own political views differed from Ainsley's.[6](https://csi.hypnoweb.net/csi-miami/les-dossiers/interviews/emily-procter-interviews/interview-she-knows-2008.88.1756/)
She appeared in 12 episodes as a guest star, from October 2000 through 2002, and returned for one special guest appearance in 2006 in the episode *Requiem*.[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/21736/emily-procter) Many fans mourned her quick departure after the 2002 season.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter)
## CSI: Miami
Even as Ainsley Hayes ended, Procter moved to the role that made her a household name: Detective Calleigh Duquesne on *CSI: Miami*, the spin-off of the forensic franchise *CSI*, which she first joined via a special guest appearance on the parent series in the May 2002 episode *Cross-Jurisdictions*.[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/21736/emily-procter) She played the ballistics specialist for the show's entire run, from 2002 to 2012, appearing in 232 episodes by IMDb's count.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/) Her screen time grew after first-season lead [Kim Delaney](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-delaney) departed.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter)
Procter described joining the spin-off as frightening in a different way from joining an established hit. The cast felt pressure to live up to the original *CSI* and spent the first year expecting cancellation at any moment before the ratings arrived.[6](https://csi.hypnoweb.net/csi-miami/les-dossiers/interviews/emily-procter-interviews/interview-she-knows-2008.88.1756/) She has said she felt she hit the lottery twice with *The West Wing* and *CSI: Miami*, because the two characters were both strong women of very different kinds.[6](https://csi.hypnoweb.net/csi-miami/les-dossiers/interviews/emily-procter-interviews/interview-she-knows-2008.88.1756/)
## Later work
After *CSI: Miami* ended, Procter took selective roles: she co-starred with [Martin Lawrence](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-lawrence) in *Big Momma's House 2* (2006) as a [Southern belle](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-belle) who hires the disguised FBI agent as a nanny; she played Helen in the 2016 film *Love Everlasting*; and she appeared as Amanda Callaway in two 2013 episodes of *White Collar*.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/) In 2020 she served as narrator of stage directions in *A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote*, a televised staged reunion of the series.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/)
Outside acting, [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) notes that she is the front woman for a 1980s cover band called White Lighten, enjoys interior decorating and poker, and has volunteered regularly at the All Saints' Episcopal Church soup kitchen in Beverly Hills.[7](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/emily-procter/bio/3000397187/) She has supported charities including Cure Autism Now, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Live Earth, Rising Stars Outreach, and The Humane Society.[8](https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/emily-procter)
## The Ground
In 2019 Procter founded The Ground, a nonprofit offering social and emotional language awareness to combat negative personal narratives and support peaceful conflict resolution.[5](https://emilyprocter.com/the-ground) The organization runs programs at Kern Valley State Prison, at the Nightingale school in [Stockton, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/stockton-california), and in partnership with Defy Ventures, and its monthly newsletter is sent to incarcerated participants.[5](https://emilyprocter.com/the-ground) According to her own site, after becoming a parent in 2010 she saw a need for community support, particularly in single-parent situations, and launched the prison program to help parents reentering from incarceration build emotional language and conflict-management skills; the associated Ground Breakers nonprofit also runs String Theory Club, a curriculum helping children develop a positive individual identity.[9](https://emilyprocter.com/about)
## Personal life
Procter's partner is the musician Paul Bryan, with whom she welcomed a daughter, Philippa "Pippa" Frances, born 2010.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/bio/) She has said that although she played a serious character on *CSI: Miami*, she considers herself a silly, goofy person in real life.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/bio/)
## References
1. [Emily Procter – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/bio/)
2. [Emily Procter – TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/21736/emily-procter)
3. [Emily Procter Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_procter)
4. [Emily Procter (I) – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698346/)
5. [The Ground – Emily Procter official site](https://emilyprocter.com/the-ground)
6. [Interview – She Knows, 2008 (CSI: Miami interview archive)](https://csi.hypnoweb.net/csi-miami/les-dossiers/interviews/emily-procter-interviews/interview-she-knows-2008.88.1756/)
7. [Emily Procter Biography, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/emily-procter/bio/3000397187/)
8. [Emily Procter: Charity Work & Causes, Look to the Stars](https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/emily-procter)
9. [About 1 – Emily Procter official site](https://emilyprocter.com/about)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Pe to P*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license