Emily Procter

Emily Procter (born October 8, 1968) is an American actress and activist. She played Ainsley Hayes in the NBC political drama The West Wing (2000–2002; 2006) and Det. Calleigh Duquesne in the CBS police procedural drama CSI: Miami (2002–2012).

Early life Procter was born on October 8, 1968.

Procter attended Ravenscroft School in Raleigh. While at East Carolina University, she joined Alpha Delta Pi sorority and was a television weather anchor at WNCT-TV in Greenville, North Carolina. She received degrees in journalism and dance.

Career After Procter moved to Los Angeles, her father paid for her to attend acting school for two years. Before graduating, she landed small film roles, including Cameron Crowe's sports romantic comedy-drama Jerry Maguire (1996), and as a co-star with David Schwimmer and Chris Cooper in the TV movie Breast Men (1997). In 1996, Procter guest-starred as Lana Lang in the ABC superhero drama Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. She briefly appeared in the TV movie The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! (1997) as Mavis and the drama Body Shots (1999) as Whitney Bryant.

In 1995, Procter played Annabel, a brief love interest of Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), in the second episode of season two of the NBC sitcom Friends, titled "The One with the Breast Milk." From 2000 to 2002 and again in 2006, Procter played the recurring role of Associate White House Counsel Ainsley Hayes in the NBC political drama The West Wing.

Procter played the starring role of Calleigh Duquesne in the CSI spin-off CSI: Miami. The show ran on CBS for 10 seasons, from September 23, 2002, to April 8, 2012.

Procter participated in 2007's Live Earth event by reading aloud, along with a number of other actresses, an essay that Michelle Gardner-Quinn wrote while she was a student at the University of Vermont.

In February 2013, Procter appeared in the final two episodes of season four of the USA Network crime drama White Collar. She played Amanda Callaway, an agent from Atlanta who is promoted to head of the FBI's white collar crimes division in New York City.

Activism In 2019, Procter founded a nonprofit organization called Ground Breakers that supports change, community and equitable infrastructure. The Ground Breakers offers social and emotional language awareness to combat negative personal narratives and promote peaceful conflict resolution. The Ground teams up Defy Ventures, a nonprofit that addresses social problems such as mass incarceration and recidivism, to offer programs at Kern Valley State Prison and Nightingale school in Stockton, California. Because her pregnancy was not written into the ninth season of CSI: Miami, her appearances were limited.

Procter has taken part in various triathlons and marathons. She is an avid poker player and has participated in at least one celebrity poker tournament. Procter also sings in a 1980s cover band originally called White Lightning but since renamed Motion. Procter has volunteered with the Young Storytellers Program that she put to practical use when decorating the 1921 Spanish-style home that she owns in Los Angeles. During the 2007–08 Writers Guild strike, she designed a home for a friend in Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands and, according to People magazine's Country Special of March 2009, decorated Kenny Chesney's home in Malibu. She was also a guest judge on the Home & Garden Television show Summer Showdown. Procter was keynote speaker at the Spring 2019 commencement at her alma mater, East Carolina University.

Procter's home was destroyed in the 2025 Pacific Palisades wildfires.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role

1995 Leaving Las Vegas Debbie 1996 Jerry Maguire Former Girlfriend 1997 Tammy 1997 Family Plan Julie Rubins 1999 Guinevere Susan Sloane 1999 Forever Fabulous Tiffany Dawl 1999 Body Shots Whitney Bryant 2006 Big Momma's House 2 Leah Fuller 2008 Turnover Lillian Chait Short film 2010 Barry Munday Deborah 2016 Love Everlasting Helen