She shared a first smile with her future husband at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Back then, My So-Called Life star Allison Joy 'AJ' Langer had no idea the beaming stranger - who was on tour with an English rugby union club and donning a kilt - was the heir to a spectacular 4,000-acre estate.
Fast forward many years, a wedding and two children, Langer, 41, has just joined the ranks of British nobility following the death of her husband Charles Courtenay's father, the Earl of Devon.
As the new Countess of Devon, the former Baywatch babe - who starred in several episodes of the hit Nineties television show - is the chatelaine of the 600-year-old Powderham Castle, near Exeter.
Her husband, 40, meanwhile, is the 19th Earl of Devon and the owner of the magnificent castle.
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British nobility: Allison Joy Langer - who starred on several episodes of the hit TV show Baywatch in the Nineties - has become the Countess of Devon in England following the passing of her father-in-law. Above, Allison is pictured with her husband Charlie Courtenay (left) in 2004 and on the film Meet The Deedles (right)
Grand home: As a new Countess, Allison is the chatelaine of the 600-year-old Powderham Castle (pictured), near Exeter. Her husband, 40, meanwhile, is the lord of the magnificent castle and the 19th Earl of Devon
His father, Hugh Courtenay, 18th Earl of Devon, who also had three older daughters, sadly passed away aged 73 on Tuesday, as revealed today by Daily Mail columnist Sebastian Shakespeare.
However, Langer - who was born in Columbus, Ohio, to an audiologist mother and fashion salesman father - and her spouse, known as 'Charlie', are unlikely to be swayed by their new, fancy titles.
Langer previously told Breezy Mama: 'The whole title thing…I am no expert. It means more to some people and less to others. It definitely makes for interesting conversation, and an interesting story.'
'If Charlie becomes the Earl of Devon, my title would become the Countess of Devon and our kids would be Lords and Ladies. But we don’t use the titles in our daily lives, they are there and we respect the history that gave rise to them, but in our reality we’re just a normal family,' she added.
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Share 1k sharesMeanwhile, Courtenay told the site that he actively discourages 'the Royalty thing'.
'Royalty implies a person is a member of the royal family, which we are not. An Earldom is an aristocratic or noble title granted by the King or Queen of the time,' he explained.
Langer, a keen surfer, and Courtenay, who is a practicing barrister, had no idea of each other's backgrounds when they first met eyes across the dance floor at the Las Vegas hotel's Circle Bar.
'He was wearing a kilt – on tour with London Scottish Rugby. We smiled at each other across the crowded room…...' Langer, who goes by her initials, 'AJ', said of the fateful meeting.
Posing: Allison (pictured modelling at a younger age) and Charlie, a practicing barrister, had no idea of each other's backgrounds when they first caught each other's eye across the dance floor at a Las Vegas hotel
International fame: Allison is best known for her role as 'Rayanne Graff' (left) on the show, My So-Called Life
First meeting: Charlie was wearing a kilt in Las Vegas's Hard Rock Hotel and Casino's (pictured) Circle Bar when Allison first met him. 'We smiled at each other across the crowded room,' Allison said of the meeting
She revealed that her future husband was not aware she was an actress who had gained international fame playing Rayanne Graff on the critically acclaimed but short-lived television show My So-Called Life.
The show - which also starred Claire Danes and Oscar-winner Jared Leto in their first major roles - was cancelled after just one season.
Meanwhile, she had 'no idea about the castle or titles or anything', she told Breezy Mama.
She said she only found out about her husband's aristocratic status 'months' into their relationship when he drove her to his family's estate, which sits on the west bank of the River Exe estuary.
'I had no idea... until he drove me up the driveway months into our relationship — which was good 'cause I wouldn’t have known what to do with that information anyway,' the mother-of-two said.
Langer and Courtenay subsequently started dating in Los Angeles - where Charlie was temporarily posted with a London-based law firm. On April 30, 2005, the couple tied the knot in the city.
Two years later, they welcomed their first child, Lady Joscelyn Skye Courtenay, via a home birth.
Couple: In 2005, Allison and Charlie (pictured embracing in 2004 following the news of their engagment) tied the knot. Two years later, they welcomed their first child, Lady Joscelyn Skye Courtenay, via a home birth
In love: Another two years later, their son, Jack Haydon Langer Courtenay, was delivered at home. Left, the Coronation robes of Allison and Charlie, and right, the couple are seen strolling in the castle grounds in 2004
Family crest: Langer - who was born in Columbus, Ohio, to an audiologist mother and fashion salesman father - and her spouse are unlikely to be swayed by their new, fancy titles. Above, the Courtenay family crest
Another two years later, their son, Jack Haydon Langer Courtenay, was delivered at their home.
Langer told Breezy Mama her daughter was named after a member of her husband's family tree.
THE HISTORY OF POWDERHAM CASTLE IN DEVON, ENGLAND
Powderham Castle came into the Courtenay family in the dowry of Margaret de Bohun on her marriage to Hugh Courtenay, the son of the first Courtenay Earl of Devon, in 1325.
The Courtenays had traveled to England from France in the reign of Henry II and had acquired many lands and power in the South West by marriages to wealthy heiresses.
The castle's medieval core was built by Sir Philip Courtenay in the early 1400s.
It has remained in the Courtenay family ever since. It was expanded by acclaimed English architect James Wyatt in the 18th century.
Powderham Castle features in the Domesday Book, a record of the 'Great Survey' of much of England and areas of Wales, made in 1086 on the orders of King William the Conqueror.
For more history, visit: Powderham.co.uk
'Jack is his grandfather’s name on his mother’s side – a very special person to Charlie and his inspiration for playing rugby. Without rugby we never would have met in Vegas!' she added.
From 2005 until 2014, Courtenay - a former student of the prestigious English boys' boarding school, Eton College in Windsor (also attended by British Prime Minister David Cameron and Princes William and Harry) - worked as a barrister for the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins.
However, last January, the Earl and his family permanently relocated to London. Courtenay now works at the law firm's office in the capital.
Langer, meanwhile, campaigns to raise awareness and money for the research of fibromyalgia, a disorder characterized by widespread muscle pain, from which she suffers.
In an interview with Lifescript in 2010, the actress explained how the condition had made playing sports 'too painful', leaving her 'completely sidelined' on her all-boy baseball team at aged 14.
This led her to turn to acting as a career, she said. At her worst, Langer, who is much shorter than her husband at just five-foot-one, said she suffered from 'excruciating' pain 'almost everywhere'.
However, she is now able to deal with the pain after ignoring doctors' advice to 'pop pills', and instead, going to 'alternative practitioners' and learning as much as possible about the condition.
Television star: Allison stars as 'Rayanne Graff' (second right) alongside Claire Danes (as 'Angela') in 1995
Career: The actress, who is living a 'full, happy and magical life, is pictured in The People Under The Stairs
Now, the Countess is living a 'full, happy and magical life', and allows herself only '20 minutes of self-pity every few weeks' - as once advised by her mother, Deana, who worked as an audiologist
Langer - who was first dubbed 'AJ' by her male baseball teammates at school - moved to San Fernando Valley from Columbus with her parents and older brother, Kirk, at the age of five.
While in California, Langer forged her acting career.
In addition to her role as 'Rayanne Graff' - for which she became known globally - she also starred in two 1991 Baywatch episodes and one 1994 episode, and in Drexell's Class as 'Melissa Drexel'.
She also featured in the television shows: In The Heat Of The Night, It's Like, You Know, Three Sisters, I Love the '90s, and Eyes - and made guest appearances on shows including Seinfeld.
Although she took a break from acting following the births of her children, Langer returned to television by joining the cast of the popular television series Private Practice in 2011.
New home: Last January, Allison and Charlie permanently relocated to London from California. They will now move in to Powderham Castle (above) following the death of the former Earl, Hugh Courtenay, on Tuesday
Until her father-in-law's death, Langer held the title of Lady Courtenay.
Despite Courtenay being the youngest of four siblings, he was made Earl of Devon because the other three are female. The peerage is hereditary and passes on to the eldest son in the family.
In a similar fashion, Courtenay and Langer's son, Jack (also known as Lord Courtenay), will inherit the title following his father's death, even though he is two years' younger than his sister.
Powderham Castle, which is fortified, sits within the parish and former manor of Powderham, near the village of Kenton. Its medieval core was built by Sir Philip Courtenay in the early 1400s.
It has remained in the Courtenay family ever since.
It was expanded by acclaimed English architect James Wyatt in the 18th century.
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