Allison Joy Courtenay, Countess of Devon (née Langer; born May 22, 1974), commonly known by her

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

A. J. Langer, is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Rayanne Graff on the American television series ''

My So-Called Life ''My So-Called Life'' is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It aired on ABC from August 25, 1994 to January 26, 1995. Set at the fictional Liberty High Sch ...

'' and Caroline Larkin on the American television series ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...

''. In 2004, she married

Charles Courtenay, 19th Earl of Devon Charles Peregrine Courtenay, 19th Earl of Devon''Burke's Peerage'', Baronetage & Knightage, 107th Edition, edited by Charles Mosley, Wilmington, Delaware, 2003, vol I, pp. 1121–6; (born 14 August 1975), styled as Lord Courtenay from 1998 unt ...

and took on the management of

Powderham Castle Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house in Exminster, Devon, south of Exeter and mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of Kenton, where the main public entrance gates are located. It is a Grade I listed building. The park and gar ...

, the Courtenay family seat in

Exminster Exminster is a village west of the Exeter Canal, Exeter ship canal and River Exe in Devon, England, south of Exeter, with a population of 4,379 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. Exminster is an ancient village associated with a A ...

Early years

Born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, Allison Joy Langer moved to the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

with her family at age five. When she joined an otherwise all-boys baseball league at age eight, her teammates considered the name "Allison" to be too feminine, and began calling her by her initials, "A.J." She has one older brother, Kirk.

Career

After many guest starring roles on several television shows, including ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl X ...

'', and her first series regular in ''

Drexell's Class ''Drexell's Class'' is an American sitcom that aired Thursday at 8:30 on Fox as part of its 1991–92 lineup. The show was created by Andrew Nicholls and Darrell Vickers. Synopsis ''Drexell's Class'' starred Dabney Coleman as Otis Drexell, a ...

'', Langer was cast as Rayanne Graff on ''My So-Called Life''. She also starred as a series regular in the sitcoms '' It's Like, You Know...'' and '' Three Sisters'', as well as the

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

Eyes An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

''. Her film appearances include

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...

's '' Escape from L.A.'' and

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Amongst his Wes Craven filmography, prolific filmography, Craven worked primarily in the Horror film, horror genre, particularly sla ...

's horror film ''

The People Under the Stairs ''The People Under the Stairs'' is a 1991 American comedy horror film written and directed by Wes Craven, and starring Brandon Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A. J. Langer and Ving Rhames. The plot follows a young boy and two adult robbers ...

''. In 2011, after a six-year acting hiatus, Langer appeared in 14 episodes of '' Private Practice'' in the recurring role of Erica Warner. She left the show in 2012 following the death of her character.

Personal life

Langer married attorney Charles Courtenay, the son of

Hugh Courtenay, 18th Earl of Devon Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...

, in a

civil ceremony A civil, or registrar, ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the United Kingdom, this person is typically called a registrar. In the United States, civil ceremonies may be performe ...

in 2004. A formal wedding took place on April 30, 2005, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Until the death of her father-in-law, Langer held the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

of Lady Courtenay. Following his death, and upon her husband's succession as 19th

Earl of Devon Earl of Devon is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. It was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the Redvers family (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.), and later by the Courtenay famil ...

, she assumed the title of

Countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

of Devon. In January 2014, she and her husband permanently relocated their family to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and to the family seat at

in May 2015. The couple announced their separation, and intention to divorce, in November 2023. In February 2024, the couple filed to dismiss their earlier divorce application. The couple have two children, a daughter and a son: * Lady Joscelyn Skye Courtenay * Jack Haydon Langer Courtenay, Lord Courtenay In her spare time, Langer raises awareness and money for the research and treatment of

fibromyalgia Fibromyalgia (FM) is a functional somatic syndrome with symptoms of widespread chronic pain, accompanied by fatigue, sleep disturbance including awakening unrefreshed, and Cognitive deficit, cognitive symptoms. Other symptoms can include he ...

, from which she herself suffers.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Langer, A. J. Living people 1974 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles American child actresses American film actresses American television actresses American expatriate actresses American expatriates in the United Kingdom A.J.

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...