Detailed Biography

Emily Mallory Procter is an American actress best known for her leading role as Calleigh Duquesne in CSI: Miami and her recurring role as Ainsley Hayes in The West Wing.

Biography

Early life

Procter was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. She was two years old when her parents William and Barbara divorced. She is a graduate of Ravenscroft School in Raleigh. While at East Carolina University she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. After she received her degrees in journalism and dance at East Carolina, she was employed as a television weather anchor at WNCT-TV in Greenville, North Carolina.

Career

After the move to Los Angeles, her father provided the costs for acting school for two years. Before even graduating, she had already landed a number of small roles in films such as Jerry Maguire and Breast Men , where she appeared along with David Schwimmer and Chris Cooper. During the 1995–96 season of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, she portrayed Lana Lang, the first blond actress to ever do so. She also briefly appeared in the 1997 TV movie The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! as Mavis.

She also had a recurring guest role as Associate White House Counsel Ainsley Hayes on NBC's The West Wing. She also portrayed a brief love interest of Joey on Friends.

She is a good friend of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation actress Jorja Fox, who persuaded her to try for the role of Calleigh Duquesne in CSI: Miami, which has been running on American television since 2002.

She participated in 2007's LiveEarth by reading an essay written by Michelle Gardner-Quinn while Gardner-Quinn was a student at the University of Vermont.

Personal life

Procter prefers to keep her personal life private. She often enjoys taking holidays with her brother, a professional chef. She jogs for two hours a day, five days a week, and has taken part in various triathlons and marathons. An avid poker player, she learned to play the game as a child when her father would play a game called 'penny poker' with her, and has participated in at least one celebrity poker tournament. Procter also sings in a 1980s cover band called White Lightning. Procter has volunteered as an actress with the Young Storytellers Program, and helps out at homeless shelters.

Procter is very interested in interior decoration and antiques, putting this to practical use in the 1921 Spanish-style home that she owns in Los Angeles. During the 2007 writers strike, she designed a home for a friend in Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands. In People Magazine's Country Special of March 2009, it was revealed she decorated Kenny Chesney's home in Malibu. She has also acted as a guest judge on the Home & Garden Television show Summer Showdown.