A.J. Langer was born in Columbus, Ohio. At age 5, her family moved to the San Fernando Valley, just outside of Los Angeles. She first began using her initials to join an all-boys baseball team, and the nickname stuck. She was introduced to Ernie Lively, who became her acting coach. After roles on television shows, including Drexell's Class (1991) (which starred a then-unknown Brittany Murphy), Coach (1989), and The Wonder Years (1988), she gained international fame on the series My So-Called Life (1994) as Rayanne Graff. Though a critical hit, the series was canceled after only 19 episodes, and Langer moved on to several more short-run series. After marrying Charles Courtenay, a practicing attorney and British Lord, Langer took several years off to raise two children. In 2011, she returned to television by joining the cast of the hit series Private Practice (2007).