CHECKING IN WITH A.J. LANGER

Celebrity Scoop

Reviews for NBC's new Tuesday sitcom "Three Sisters" were generally mixed when the show premiered in January, but critics were unanimous on one count: Any show that includes A.J. Langer in the cast can't be reckoned a dead loss.

The winsome beauty says she and her "Sisters" colleagues are trying to ignore both reviews and ratings (which are pretty strong) as they flesh out their characters, including Langer's own: Annie, the youngest and most free-spirited of the Bernstein-Flynn gals.

"Yeah, Annie can be the ditsy one, the flighty one who doesn't know who she is," Langer says, reflecting on some first impressions of the character, "but ... you get to know her, and sheay I could do my job. You would go insane. You've just got to try to relax and do your job."

When she was 5, the Ohio native moved with her family to Los Angeles, where an algebra teacher later took notice of her on a high-school speech team and put her in touch with an agent. After making her series debut in the Fox sitcom "Drexell's Class," she broke out in a huge way as sexy Rayanne Graff in "My So-Called Life."

"Rayanne changed my life totally," Langer says, "and not just in terms of my career. She was so strong, and I found her at a time when I was much more conservative myself."

That's a thing of the past, judging from Langer's upcoming role in the movie ice-skating spoof "On Edge."

"I play a Tonya Harding-type bad babe, and I can't wait to see it. It's awesome," she says with a laugh.

Full name: Allison Joy Langer.

Born: May 22, 1974, in Columbus, Ohio.

TV series debut: As Dabney Coleman's daughter in "Drexell's Class."

Breakout role: Bad girl Rayanne Graff in the cult high-school drama "My So-Called Life."

Current assignment: Free-spirited sibling Annie Bernstein-Flynn in the NBC sitcom "Three Sisters."

Other TV credits: Played wistful Lauren Woods on "It's Like, You Know ..." ; guest appearances include "Parker Lewis Can't Lose," "Baywatch," "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper," "Blossom," "Brooklyn South," "Coach," "Seinfeld," "Touched by an Angel," "Diagnosis Murder" and "Beverly Hills, 90210." Coming up: "On Edge," a movie satire about ice skating.

CREDIT: John Crook