Emily Procter

Born on October 8, 1968, in Raleigh, North Carolina, Emily is the adoptive daughter of William Procter, a general practitioner, and Barbara Jones, a volunteer worker. Her parents filed for divorce when she was three years old. She has an older brother named Whit, who was adopted before her.

She studied at the co-ed independent Ravenscroft School where she was chosen for a Distinguished Alumni Award. She then enrolled at East Carolina University where she was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. Following her graduation with degrees in journalism and dance, she was hired by WNCT-TV in Greenville, North Carolina, as a television weather forecaster.

Procter and musician Paul Bryan have been together since 2008. She gave birth to their daughter Philippa Frances, nicknamed Pippa, on December 8, 2010. The family currently resides in a Spanish-style home that she decorated herself in Los Angeles, California. She also has a developed taste in antiques.

When Emily Procter moved to Los Angeles to earnestly pursue a career in acting, her father provided support by paying the tuition fee for her two-year acting course. She got her first set of roles even before graduating. Procter debuted on television in the episode ‘Living Legend’ of the syndicated crime drama ‘Renegade’ in 1995. She guest-starred in HBO’s ‘Platypus Man’ and later appeared as Annabel, a girlfriend of Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), in an episode of ‘Friends’. In the same year, she did the movie ‘Fast Company’, directed by Roz Epstein, and worked in her first feature film, ‘Leaving Las Vegas’, which also starred Nicholas Cage in his Oscar-winning role.

In 1996, she got the chance to play a comic book character, Lana Lang, in ABC’s ‘Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman’. She featured in Paul Raimondi’s action thriller ‘Crosscut’. In Cameron Crowe’s ‘Jerry Maguire’, she played one of the titular character’s (Tom Cruise) former girlfriends.

In the late 1990s, Procter did several small parts in both films and television. She was an anchorwoman in the sitcom ‘Just Shoot Me!’ (1997), Mavis in ‘The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!’(1997), Julie Robins in ‘Family Plan’ (1997), Laura Pierson in ‘Breast Man’ (1997), Susan Sloane in ‘Guinevere’ (1999), Whitney Bryant in ‘Body Shots’ (1999), Tiffany Dawl in ‘Forever Fabulous’ (1999), and Young Valhenna Woman in ‘The Big Tease’ (1999). She provided the voice for Sally Davis in the 1996 video game ‘ssn’.

Her first substantial acting role was in Aaron Sorkin’s political drama ‘The West Wing’ as Associate White House Counsel Ainsley Hayes. Initially, Sorkin and Procter modelled the character after conservative political commentator Ann Coulter.

Acting upon her friend actress Jorja Fox’s (who played Sara Sidle in the original ‘CSI’ at the time) suggestion, Procter auditioned for and ultimately got the part of Calleigh Duquesne in CBS’ ‘CSI: Miami’ (2002-12). Known for its unconventional style and sleek look, the show became a global phenomenon and catapulted CBS among the major players in American broadcast television. Procter, as one of the primary protagonists of the show, received both critical recognition and audience appreciation for her acting.

As an active member of the community, she is involved with multiple charities, including ‘Cure Autism Now’, ‘Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation’, ‘Live Earth’, ‘Rising Stars Outreach’, and ‘The Humane Society’. Besides these, she has invested both time and resources for the betterment of education and the condition of animals. She has served as the volunteer for the ‘Young Storytellers Program’ and regularly visits All Saints' Episcopal Church soup kitchen in Beverly Hills to help out in any way possible.

Procter collects bugs as a hobby.

She is a member of the 1980s cover band ‘Motion’, formerly known as ‘White Lightning’.