A. J. Langer
AMG AllMovie Guide:
Top
A.J. Langer
Biography
A.J. Langer was intrigued by acting from the age of five, but it was a high school algebra teacher who gave her the little push she needed to get into the business. Langer first found success playing young teens on television, but as she matured, switched to feature films. To millions, she is best known for having played the free-spirited but troubled Rayanne on the short-lived but highly acclaimed ABC drama My So-Called Life (1992-1993).She was born Allison Joy Langer in Columbus, OH, but raised in Southern California's San Fernando Valley, where her father worked as a retailer of formal wear and her mother, an audiologist, owned a hearing aid business. She received her nickname at age five, when she played on an all-boy little league team. Her teammates thought Allison too girly a name and so shortened it to the cooler-sounding A.J. She entered show business in ninth grade, after the math teacher spotted her during a speech contest. Impressed by Langer's gift for gab, the teacher pulled some strings with an agent and got her signed up. Her first role was that of Melissa Drexell, Dabney Coleman's daughter in the short-lived Fox sitcom Drexell's Class (1991-1992). The same year, she made her feature film debut playing Alice in Wes Craven's The People Under the Stairs (1992). Langer was also busy making television guest-starring appearances on series such as Blossom and The Wonder Years, and playing small roles in a few television movies.
Portraying Rayanne Graff on My So-Called Life made Langer a cult figure among the show's many youthful fans. With all the work she obtained, she dropped out of high school, but she later earned a General Equivalency Diploma. Following the demise of the show, Langer co-starred with Kurt Russell in Escape From L.A. (1996), playing the mayor's kidnapped daughter Utopia, and then played a supporting role in Meet the Deedles (1998). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Related Videos:
Top
A. J. Langer
Filmography:
Top
A.J. Langer
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
A. J. Langer
| A. J. Langer | |
|---|---|
| Born | Allison Joy Langer May 22, 1974 Columbus, Ohio, United States |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouse | Charles Peregrine Courtenay, Lord Courtenay (2005–present) |
| Children | Joscelyn Skye & Jack Haydon |
A.J. Langer Courtenay, Lady Courtenay (born May 22, 1974), is an American actress best known for her role as Rayanne Graff on the television series My So-Called Life.
|
Contents
|
Career
After recurring roles on several television shows, including The Wonder Years and Drexell's Class, she was cast as Rayanne Graff on My So-Called Life. She also appeared as a cast member on the sitcoms It's Like, You Know... and Three Sisters as well as the drama series Eyes, and appeared in John Carpenter's film Escape From L.A. and in Wes Craven's horror film The People Under the Stairs.
In 2011, after a six-year acting hiatus, Langer started appearing on Private Practice in the recurring role of Erica Warner. She left the show in 2012 due to the death of her character.
Personal life
Langer was born Allison Joy Langer in Columbus, Ohio, daughter of Deana, an audiologist who owned a hearing aid distribution company, and Gary Langer, who worked in sales for a wholesale fashion distributor.[1] She moved to the San Fernando Valley with her family at age five. She started using her initials to join an all-boys baseball team three years later. She has one older brother, Kirk.
Langer married attorney Lord Courtenay (known to his family and friends as Charles Courtenay), the son and heir of The 18th Earl of Devon, in a civil ceremony in 2004. A formal wedding took place on April 30, 2005, in Los Angeles, California.[2] Upon the death of the current Earl, Langer (who holds the courtesy title Lady Courtenay) will assume the title of The Rt. Hon. The Countess of Devon, and will relocate to the family seat at Powderham Castle. The couple have two children: daughter The Hon. Joscelyn Skye (born January 31, 2007) and a son, The Hon. Jack Haydon Langer Courtenay (born August 2009).
In her spare time, Lady Courtenay raises awareness and money for the research and treatment of fibromyalgia, from which she herself suffers.[3] On June 18, 2008, she presented the Nobel Student Initiative Award at Alfred B. Nobel Middle School (where she once attended) in Northridge, California.
Television
- Drexell's Class (1991) – Melissa Drexell
- In the Heat of the Night (1992) – Megan Fowler
- My So-Called Life (1994) – Rayanne Graff
- It's Like, You Know... (1999) – Lauren Woods
- Three Sisters (2001) – Anne-Berstein Flynn
- I Love the '90s (2004) – Herself
- Eyes (2005) – Meg Bardo
- Private Practice (2011) - Erica Warner
Guest starring roles
- Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1991) – Melissa
- Baywatch (1991) – Caroline Larkin (2 episodes)
- Blossom (1992) – Sherry
- Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1992) – Darlene
- Camp Wilder (1992) – Lydia
- In the Heat of the Night (1992) – Megan Fowler (2 episodes)
- The Wonder Years (1993) – Mary Jo Genaro
- Beverly Hills, 90210 (1993) – Denise
- Baywatch (1994) – Rachel/Nancy/Linda
- Coach (1995–96) – Julie (3 episodes)
- Diagnosis: Murder (1995) – Ashley York
- Seinfeld (1996) – Abby
- Touched by an Angel (1997) – Olivia Marland
- Brooklyn South (1997–98) – Kathleen Doyle (9 episodes)
- Poltergeist: The Legacy (1998) – Elissa
- Fame L.A. (1998) – Emily Callaghan
- The Drew Carey Show (2002) – Dawn
- Private Practice (2011) – Erica (recurring role)
Filmography
- The People Under the Stairs (1991) – Alice
- And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird (1991) – Beth Allen
- Lightning in a Bottle (1993) – Mitzi Furber
- The Killing Box (1993) – Thomas, The Drummer Boy
- Arcade (1993) – Laurie
- Between Mother and Daughter (1995) – Carla
- Naomi & Wynona: Love Can Build a Bridge (1995) – Girl in the wheelchair
- Escape from L.A. (1996) – Utopia
- Meet the Deedles (1998) – Lt. Jesse Ryan
- On Edge (2001) – J.C. Cain
Videogames
- Return to Zork (1993) – "Rebecca Snoot"
References
- ^ A. J. Langer Biography (1974-)
- ^ "Titled Match". People Magazine. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20147577,00.html. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
- ^ Morgan, John (April 9, 2001). "A.J. Langer mellows out to fight fibromyalgia". USA Today. Retrieved December 30, 2007
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
