Emily Procter was born on October 8th, 1968 in Raleigh, North Carolina, to Bill Procter, a physician, and Barbara Jones, a volunteer worker. Although the two divorced two years after Emily's birth, they were both active in raising their daughter.

Growing up, Emily dreamed of becoming an actress. This was an odd choice for her since she was not allowed to watch television during her early years. Nevertheless, she performed well at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh.

Upon her high school graduation, she enrolled in East Carolina University, Sandra Bullock's alma mater, where she studied journalism and dance. What she wanted most was to join the theater department, but it was full. The Alpha Delta Pi sorority provided solace.

change of heart

While attending college, Procter was able to secure a position at the CBS affiliate WNCT in Greenville as a weekend weather girl. One day, she actually fell asleep between takes and the anchorman had to nudge her awake.

Since she knew this career wasn't for her, she tried her hand at reporting but walking around crime scenes didn't strike her as something she could do for the rest of her life (at least not this early in her career). Consequently, after receiving her B.F.A. in journalism and dance in 1991, she moved to Los Angeles.

Actually, she had her sights set on New York but received a phone call from another Raleigh native, actress Sharon Lawrence. While Emily has no idea how she got her number, Lawrence told her to save her time and money and move to L.A. instead of New York. She took her advice.

up the ladder

Emily's parents paid for two years' worth of acting lessons in L.A., since they considered the lessons the equivalent of graduate school. She also took voice lessons to erase her noticeable Southern drawl, but it was something she was unable to do.

Because she had given herself two years to make it in Tinseltown, she took every job available. She started out as a TV and film extra and eventually graduated to meatier roles after somebody on the set of Billy Crystal's Mr. Saturday Night noticed her.

This led to her first speaking role in Tobey Maguire's short-lived 1992 comedy, Great Scott. This opened doors for her as she was cast in commercials for Pepsi, Budweiser and Maxwell House. She also got guest-starring roles on TV shows like Renegade, Friends and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

making her mark

As her stock rose, her work became more interesting. Procter's roles were still small but she appeared in Leaving Las Vegas (1995) with Nicolas Cage, Jerry Maguire (1996) with Tom Cruise, and a Dukes of Hazzard TV reunion movie (1997).

That same year, she bagged the lead female role in HBO's Breast Men about the evolution of breast implants, which called for her to appear topless. For the next few years, Procter continued appearing in films such as Family Plan (1998), Body Shots (1999) and Forever Fabulous (2000).

The big break that would fully thrust her into the spotlight came in 2000, when she was disenchanted with acting and was seriously considering becoming a decorator. It was then that she got a call from NBC to audition for a part in The West Wing, one of the network's powerhouse shows.

from washington to miami

The show's creator and writer Aaron Sorkin liked her so much that not only did he give her the role, but he tailored the character, Ainsley Hayes, according to her own Southern upbringings. Her character provided a zesty challenge for the regular cast members.

Even though she absolutely loved this character and the work it entailed, Emily left The West Wing in 2002, when she was offered the chance to get a starring role on CBS' CSI: Miami, a spin-off of the hugely popular CSI, which boosted star Marg Helgenberger's career. Fortunately, the show is a hit, having won the People's Choice Award for Favorite New Drama in 2003.

Emily stars as Calleigh Duquesne, a ballistics specialist, which incidentally has her once more wandering through crime scenes, although they are now fake and don't bother her too much. While she had to relocate to Miami for her career, she returns to North Carolina every chance she gets.

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Credit: askmen.com