Courtney Act Australian Singer From Brisbane

Early life

Courtney Act is the stage name of Shane Gilberto Jenek, an Australian drag performer, singer and television personality born on 18 February 1982 in Brisbane. Jenek's parents, Gill and Annette, have Danish and German ancestry, and there is an older sister, Kim. As a child Jenek loved dressing up, singing and dancing, and won a children's charity pageant called Tiny Tots in 1987. At the Fame Talent School, Jenek became close friends with the twins Lisa and Jessica Origliasso, later of The Veronicas.

Secondary education was split across two schools. Jenek began at St Paul's Anglican School in Bald Hills a year early, then moved to Sandgate District State High School after two years. Medicine was once the plan, but a visit to the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney changed direction. Jenek moved to Sydney at the age of 18.

Career

Jenek started performing in drag in 2002 after meeting the Sydney performer Vanity Faire. The name Courtney Act was chosen because, in an Australian accent, it sounds like the phrase "caught in the act". That year Courtney won the Diva Rising Star competition. In 2003 Courtney auditioned for the first season of Australian Idol while working as a waiter in Brisbane. The first attempt, made as Jenek, was rejected by the judges; the second, the next day in drag as Courtney Act, impressed them. Courtney was eliminated in the first public vote, was brought back as a wildcard, and finished in thirteenth place. Courtney is described as the first openly queer contestant to appear on the show. Also in 2003 Courtney and Vanity Faire founded Wigs by Vanity, which makes wigs for drag performers.

A record deal with BMG Australia, now Sony Music Australia, followed in 2003. Courtney's debut single, "Rub Me Wrong", appeared in March 2004, reached number 29 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified Gold. After returning to nightclub work, Courtney moved to West Hollywood in August 2011.

In 2014 Courtney was one of fourteen contestants on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, the only Australian to have appeared on the programme at that time. Courtney won the main challenge in episode four, a musical parody called "Shade: The Rusical", reached the final three and shared the runner-up position with Adore Delano, behind Bianca Del Rio. In July 2014 Courtney sang with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, becoming the first drag performer to do so, in a duet with Cheyenne Jackson.

In September 2014 Courtney, Willam Belli and Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 were announced as the first drag queens to front an American Apparel campaign, and as The AAA Girls they recorded "American Apparel Ad Girls", which reached number 10 on the Billboard Comedy Digital Songs chart.

Courtney released the EP Kaleidoscope in 2015; its title track was the official song of the 2016 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. In 2016 Courtney worked as a foreign correspondent for the website Junkee, reporting on the US presidential election.

In 2018 Courtney entered the Celebrity Big Brother house in the United Kingdom, stayed for 32 days and won the series, beating Ann Widdecombe. A television special, The Courtney Act Show, was broadcast that Christmas Eve, and Courtney hosted the dating series The Bi Life on E!. In February 2019 Courtney entered Eurovision: Australia Decides with "Fight for Love" and placed fourth. Later in 2019 Courtney partnered Joshua Keefe on the Australian Dancing with the Stars, finishing second and becoming the first drag performer in the franchise's history. A guest role as herself in the soap opera Neighbours aired in 2020.

From 2021 Courtney hosted the interview programme Courtney Act's One Plus One on ABC, which received an AACTA Award nomination, and made the podcast Brenda! Call Me with Vanity Faire. In 2022 Courtney sat on the judging panel of the ITV series Queens for the Night alongside Melanie C, Layton Williams and Rob Beckett, and played the Killer Queen in the Australian arena tour of We Will Rock You. In 2023 Courtney competed on The Masked Singer Australia as Cowgirl, the first genderfluid contestant on that show. In 2024 and 2025 Courtney was the backstage correspondent for SBS coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Recognition

In June 2019 a panel assembled by New York magazine placed Courtney third on a list ranking the most powerful drag queens in America, drawn from one hundred former Drag Race contestants.

Personal life

Courtney Act identifies as pansexual and genderfluid. After living in Sydney, Los Angeles and London, Courtney now lives in Sydney and bought a first home there in 2022.