diff --git a/src/models/CMakeLists.txt b/src/models/CMakeLists.txt
index b1754778..16846410 100644
--- a/src/models/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/models/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ add_library(
     disassemblymodel.cpp
     disassemblyoutput.cpp
     eventmodel.cpp
+    eventmodelproxy.cpp
     filterandzoomstack.cpp
     formattingutils.cpp
     frequencymodel.cpp
diff --git a/src/models/eventmodelproxy.cpp b/src/models/eventmodelproxy.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..12a547ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/models/eventmodelproxy.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/*
+    SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Lieven Hey <lieven.hey@kdab.com>
+    SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2023 Klarälvdalens Datakonsult AB, a KDAB Group company, info@kdab.com
+
+    SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
+*/
+
+#include "eventmodelproxy.h"
+#include "eventmodel.h"
+
+EventModelProxy::EventModelProxy(QObject* parent)
+    : QSortFilterProxyModel(parent)
+{
+    setDynamicSortFilter(true);
+    setRecursiveFilteringEnabled(true);
+    setSortRole(EventModel::SortRole);
+    setFilterKeyColumn(EventModel::ThreadColumn);
+    setFilterRole(Qt::DisplayRole);
+}
+
+EventModelProxy::~EventModelProxy() = default;
+
+bool EventModelProxy::filterAcceptsRow(int source_row, const QModelIndex& source_parent) const
+{
+    // index is invalid -> we are at the root node
+    // hide categories that have no children (e.g. favorites, tracepoints)
+    if (!source_parent.isValid()) {
+        const auto model = sourceModel();
+        if (!model->hasChildren(model->index(source_row, 0)))
+            return false;
+    }
+
+    auto data = sourceModel()
+                    ->index(source_row, EventModel::EventsColumn, source_parent)
+                    .data(EventModel::EventsRole)
+                    .value<Data::Events>();
+
+    if (data.empty()) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    return QSortFilterProxyModel::filterAcceptsRow(source_row, source_parent);
+}
diff --git a/src/models/eventmodelproxy.h b/src/models/eventmodelproxy.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a720fd58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/models/eventmodelproxy.h
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+/*
+    SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Lieven Hey <lieven.hey@kdab.com>
+    SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2023 Klarälvdalens Datakonsult AB, a KDAB Group company, info@kdab.com
+
+    SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
+*/
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <QSortFilterProxyModel>
+
+class EventModelProxy : public QSortFilterProxyModel
+{
+    Q_OBJECT
+public:
+    explicit EventModelProxy(QObject* parent = nullptr);
+    ~EventModelProxy() override;
+
+protected:
+    bool filterAcceptsRow(int source_row, const QModelIndex& source_parent) const override;
+};
diff --git a/src/timelinewidget.cpp b/src/timelinewidget.cpp
index e38458bc..8f6cc1b5 100644
--- a/src/timelinewidget.cpp
+++ b/src/timelinewidget.cpp
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 #include "filterandzoomstack.h"
 #include "models/eventmodel.h"
+#include "models/eventmodelproxy.h"
 #include "resultsutil.h"
 #include "timelinedelegate.h"
 
@@ -61,12 +62,8 @@ TimeLineWidget::TimeLineWidget(PerfParser* parser, QMenu* filterMenu, FilterAndZ
     ui->setupUi(this);
 
     auto* eventModel = new EventModel(this);
-    auto* timeLineProxy = new QSortFilterProxyModel(this);
-    timeLineProxy->setRecursiveFilteringEnabled(true);
+    auto* timeLineProxy = new EventModelProxy(this);
     timeLineProxy->setSourceModel(eventModel);
-    timeLineProxy->setSortRole(EventModel::SortRole);
-    timeLineProxy->setFilterKeyColumn(EventModel::ThreadColumn);
-    timeLineProxy->setFilterRole(Qt::DisplayRole);
     ResultsUtil::connectFilter(ui->timeLineSearch, timeLineProxy, ui->regexCheckBox);
     ui->timeLineView->setModel(timeLineProxy);
     ui->timeLineView->setSortingEnabled(true);
diff --git a/tests/modeltests/tst_models.cpp b/tests/modeltests/tst_models.cpp
index c8f4e74e..48358956 100644
--- a/tests/modeltests/tst_models.cpp
+++ b/tests/modeltests/tst_models.cpp
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 
 #include <models/disassemblymodel.h>
 #include <models/eventmodel.h>
+#include <models/eventmodelproxy.h>
 #include <models/sourcecodemodel.h>
 
 namespace {
@@ -672,6 +673,38 @@ private slots:
         QCOMPARE(model.rowCount(favoritesIndex), 0);
     }
 
+    void testEventModelProxy()
+    {
+        const auto events = createEventModelTestData();
+        EventModel model;
+        QAbstractItemModelTester tester(&model);
+        model.setData(events);
+
+        EventModelProxy proxy;
+        proxy.setSourceModel(&model);
+
+        const auto favoritesIndex = model.index(3, 0);
+        const auto processesIndex = model.index(1, 0);
+
+        QCOMPARE(model.rowCount(), 4);
+        QCOMPARE(proxy.rowCount(), 2);
+
+        proxy.setFilterRegularExpression(QStringLiteral("this does not match"));
+        QCOMPARE(proxy.rowCount(), 0);
+        proxy.setFilterRegularExpression(QString());
+        QCOMPARE(proxy.rowCount(), 2);
+
+        // add the first data trace to favourites
+        // adding the whole process doesn't work currently
+        auto firstProcess = model.index(0, 0, processesIndex);
+        model.addToFavorites(model.index(0, 0, firstProcess));
+
+        QCOMPARE(proxy.rowCount(), 3);
+
+        model.removeFromFavorites(model.index(0, 0, favoritesIndex));
+        QCOMPARE(proxy.rowCount(), 2);
+    }
+
     void testPrettySymbol_data()
     {
         QTest::addColumn<QString>("prettySymbol");