Emily Swallow

American actor Emily Swallow, best known for her role as FBI Agent Kim Fischer on CBS's "The Mentalist" (2008-2015), was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. Swallow's love for acting began in high school, when she started appearing in various plays throughout her community.

When it came time for college, however, Swallow decided the uncertain life of a struggling actor was not for her, and went on to the University of Virginia instead. After receiving her B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies, Swallow planned on working as a foreign services officer. However, as luck would have it, after auditioning for the Graduate Acting Program at NYU on a whim, she realized that acting was still her first love. Swallow was accepted into the prestigious Acting Program at NYU shortly after, and quickly returned to the stage. She started performing on Broadway in several of Shakespeare's plays, including "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "King Lear."

After graduating from NYU, however, it wasn't long before the allure of Hollywood came calling. Swallow soon started auditioning for numerous TV roles, and appeared in guest spots in "Guiding Light" (NBC/CBS, 1957-2009), "Medium" (NBC, 2005-2011), and "NCIS" (CBS, 2003- ). She nabbed her first recurring role on "Southland" (NBC/TNT, 2009-2013) in 2009, and followed that up with another recurring part on David E. Kelley's short-lived series, "Monday Mornings" (TBS 2013).

Swallow's big break came that same year when she nabbed the part of FBI Agent Kim Fischer on CBS's popular crime series "The Mentalist." Swallow appeared in 14 episodes of the series' sixth season.