Courtney Act
Courtney in 2019
Born	Shane Gilberto Jenek (1982-02-18)18 February 1982 (age 43) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Occupations	Drag queen television personality singer
Years active	2000–present
Musical career
Member of	The AAA Girls
Musical artist
Website	courtneyact.com

Shane Gilberto Jenek (born 18 February 1982), better known under thestage nameCourtney Act, is an Australiandrag queen, singer and television personality. Courtney first came to prominence competing on thefirst season ofAustralian Idol in 2003. After the show, she signed toBMG Australia (nowSony Music Australia), and she released her debut single, "Rub Me Wrong", which peaked at No. 29 on theARIA Singles Chart^[1][2] and was certified Gold. While auditioning forAustralian Idol, she became the first "openly queer and gender diverse contestant" to openly appear on the show.^[3] In 2014, Courtney was one of the runners-up inseason six ofRuPaul's Drag Race. Courtney is a member of the drag girl-group,The AAA Girls.

In 2014, Courtney released theextended playKaleidoscope (2015); the title-track was the official song for the 2016Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. In January 2018, Courtney appeared onseason 21 ofCelebrity Big Brother UK and ultimately won the series.^[4] She began branching into a hosting career, hostingThe Bi Life onE! and her own television special,The Courtney Act Show. Courtney released "Fight for Love" in late 2018 for theEurovision – Australia Decides final; she finished in fourth place.In 2019, Courtney competed and was runner-up onseason 16 of the Australian version ofDancing with the Stars, where she was paired with Joshua Keefe.^[5] In 2022, Act was a judge on theITV reality competition series,Queens for the Night.

Jenek uses the pronounshe when referring to Courtney andhe when referring to himself.^[6]

Shane Gilberto Jenek^[7] was born on 18 February 1982^[8] inBrisbane, Australia, and moved to Sydney at age 18.^[9] He was born to Gill and Annette Jenek and has an older sister named Kim.^[10] His mother is ofDanish descent and his father is ofGerman descent; they worked inKings Cross and befriended cabaret performer and TV personalityCarlotta.^[11][12]

Growing up, Jenek would always dress up and sing and dance, but couldn't identify with anything that was portrayed in the media.^[10] In 1987, he entered a competition, Tiny Tots, which was acharity pageant show for children, and won.^[10] At a young age, he began attending The Fame Talent School, where he became close friends with twinsLisa andJessica Origliasso, who would later becomeThe Veronicas.^[10] The group performed together for twelve years, performing acts such aspantomime in local shopping centres such as theStrathpine Centre, theToombul Shopping Centre, andWestfield Chermside.^[12]

Jenek found school difficult due to bullying over his sexuality.^[10] He began to think something was wrong with him during his teenage years. He attended Nashville Primary School inBrighton, but his parents wanted him to go to a private school for his secondary studies, so he transferred toSt Paul's Anglican School inBald Hills a year early to "acclimatise". Jenek disliked the school, and moved toSandgate District State High School after two years at St. Paul's. After school, he would frequently go clubbing with friends in Brisbane, particularly onMary Street.^[12] Jenek received high grades at school and he was going to studymedicine to become a doctor.^[10]

He first attended the Stonewall Club in the mid-90s and Jenek states that was the start of his "big queer life".^[10] While touring colleges, he visited theNational Institute of Dramatic Art, and, instead of moving forward toPerth to tour theWestern Australian Academy of Performing Arts, he spent a week inSydney behind his parents’ backs "living a lifetime of gay".^[12]

Jenek'sdrag queen career began in 2002 when he metSydney drag queen Vanity Faire.^[10] He was intrigued by the visual feminine illusion Faire would create once she was in drag and this inspired him to begin his drag career.^[10] While deciding his drag name, he originally intended to take the name "Ginger Le'Bon" and be a "redheaded, smoky voiced nightclub singer",^[13] but, instead, he decided upon the stage name Courtney Act as, in anon-rhotic accent like theAustralian accent, the phrase "caught in the act" is heard.^[10] Courtney has stated that in 2002, when she began performing in drag, one had to "fight" and "earn" one's place as a drag queen.^[10] She entered theDiva Rising Star competition in 2002 and won.^[10]

In 2003, while working as a waiter at Jimmy's on the Mall, a restaurant in Brisbane,^[12] Courtney auditioned for theinaugural season ofAustralian Idol. He first appeared as Jenek, but the judges,Ian Dickson,Marcia Hines andMark Holden, told Jenek that his voice was "just not up to it".^[10] The following day, Jenek returned to audition but as Courtney Act.^[10] Hines said that Courtney was "great". Dickson said, "Shane only didn't just cut it. You've added another dimension and this time you've blown us away."^[10] Courtney continued through the competition and reached the live finals.^[10] In the first TV vote Courtney did not advance; however, the judges brought her back as a wildcard.^[10] During her time on the show she performed songs such as: "I Am Woman" byHelen Reddy, "You Don't Own Me" byLesley Gore and “You Shook Me All Night Long" byAC/DC. Courtney finished in thirteenth place on the show, but remained highly popular throughout Australia. At the time, Jenek was the first and only LGBT contestant to openly appear on a reality TV talent show.^[3]

Together with business partner and fellow drag queen Vanity Faire, Courtney operates Wigs by Vanity; they started the company in 2003, the year Courtney auditioned for idol, with the aim of producing wigs for drag queens.^[14]

After the completion of thefirst season of Australian Idol, Courtney went on tour with the finalists of the show.^[15] In 2003, Courtney signed a major record deal withBMG Australia now known asSony Music Australia. Courtney released her debutsingle "Rub Me Wrong" the following year in March 2004, where the song reached a peak of number 29 on theARIA Charts and gaining a gold certification by the charts. Courtney returned to the club scene and began working with the up-and-comingLady Gaga.^[10]

In August 2011, Jenek moved toWest Hollywood, California.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2013,Logo TV announced that Courtney was among the 14 drag queens who would be competing on thesixth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race.^[16] Courtney is the only queen from Australia ever to be featured on the show. Episode 4 featured Courtney as the main challenge winner.^[17] The main challenge was to perform in "Shade: The Rusical". Courtney was praised for her "strong" singing voice and acting skills.^[17] Courtney proceeded to the final in the top 3. Courtney was the fourth contestant during the show's six seasons not to have fallen into the bottom two throughout the competition. She placed as joint runner-up alongsideAdore Delano, behind winnerBianca Del Rio.^{[citation needed]}

In July 2014, Courtney became the first drag performer in history to sing live with theSan Francisco Symphony Orchestra. She appeared as a guest performer withCheyenne Jackson in "Hello, Gorgeous! Cheyenne Jackson Goes to the Movies". The two sang a duet of "Elephant Love Song" from the 2001Baz Luhrmann filmMoulin Rouge!^[18] In September 2014, Courtney, along withWillam Belli andAlaska Thunderfuck 5000, were the first drag queens to become ad girls forAmerican Apparel, known asThe AAA Girls. She worked for the campaign Support Artists, Support Ethical Manufacturing from the fashion brand.^[19] The group released their debut single "American Apparel Ad Girls".^[20] The song charted at number 10 on theBillboard Comedy Digital songs chart:^[21] the song would later feature in Belli's solo album,Shartistry in Motion (2014). In December 2014 the group released aChristmas song, "Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man", which was featured in the firstChristmas Queens (2015). The album also saw Courtney cover a solo version of "Twelve Days of Christmas". Again in June 2015, the group reunited to record for Alaska's debut studio albumAnus (2015), where they collaborated on the track "The Shade of It All".^[22]

In July 2015, Courtney returned to her solo recording career and created theextended playKaleidoscope (2015).^[23] The album generally received positives from critics and it saw the release of lead single "Ecstasy". This was followed by "Ugly", "Body Parts" and the title track song "Kaleidoscope". The latter featured as theofficial song for the 2016Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.^[24] Courtney stated: "I feel that gender and sexuality are fluid and so often we get stuck in the rigidity. Who knows when someone outside your usual target zone might come also and sweep you off your feet?”.^[24] In 2016, Courtney was theforeign correspondent for the Australian news website,Junkee. Courtney covered theUS Presidential election 2016 for the site, attending rallies of bothHillary Clinton andDonald Trump. Following Trump's election, Courtney also participated in, and reported on, the2017 Women's March.^[25]

In late 2017, Courtney appeared inSingle AF, broadcast onMTV UK.^[26] In February 2018, Courtney was appointed one of two Fringe Ambassadors at theAdelaide Fringe, presenting the showUnder the Covers there.^[27] In 2017, Courtney reunited with The AAA Girls for theAccess All Areas Tour (2017). Produced byFullscreen Live,^[28] the tour played in 15 cities in the United States and Canada. The Squared Division served as creative directors and Jae Fusz served as choreographer.^[29]

In 2018, Courtney entered theCelebrity Big Brother house, and remained in the house for 32 days, eventually winning the season, beatingAnn Widdecombe. Jenek appeared as both Courtney and himself throughout the season, being referred to "him" out of drag and "her" in drag.^[30] Channel 4 confirmedThe Courtney Act Show, with Courtney saying that she would be "working with some of [her] favourite artists",^[31][32] which was broadcast onChristmas Eve of 2018. The show featured performances fromBianca Del Rio,Adore Delano,Darienne Lake andLeona Lewis.^[33] Jenek also hosted the dating reality showThe Bi Life, appearing both as Courtney Act and Shane, which premiered in Ireland and the United Kingdom on 25 October 2018 onE!^[34][35][36] Courtney competed with the song "Fight for Love" onEurovision – Australia Decides in February 2019 to representAustralia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, but was not successful, losing out toKate Miller-Heidke with the song "Zero Gravity".^[37] The show received positive reviews.^[37] In June 2019, a panel of judges fromNew York magazine placed her third on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 formerDrag Race contestants.^[38]

In 2019, Courtney competed in the16th season of the Australian version ofDancing with the Stars, partnered with Joshua Keefe, where they came second.^[5] Courtney is the firstdrag performer in the history of theDancing with the Stars franchise.^[39] Courtney and Keefe topped the leader board with their performance in the first episode.^[40]

On 1 March 2019, it was announced that Courtney had filmed a guest role as herself in the Australian soap operaNeighbours. Her scenes aired in 2020.^[41] In late 2019, Courtney featured inCelebrity Come Dine with Me. Courtney appeared twice as a contestant on the quiz showCelebrity Mastermind; the British version in 2018,^[42] and the Australian version in 2020.^[43]

In 2021 it was announced that Courtney would become the new host ofABC Television's long-form television interview showCourtney Act'sOne Plus One,^[44] which was nominated for anAACTA Award.^[45] It was revealed thatNetwork 10 had commissioned apilot of Act's interview television series calledCourtney's Closet, which transformed a different celebrity guest into drag each week while also learning about their personal journey, and premiered onvideo on demand streaming website10 Play as part of its Pilot Showcase series.^[46][47] Act's podcast with Vanity Faire also got renewed for a second season,Brenda! Call Me. The show was world's largest LGBTQIA+ podcast, with the first season reaching 750,000 listens across 170 countries worldwide since debuting in February 2021.^[48] In June 2022, it was announced that Courtney would become a judge on newITV reality competition show,Queens for the Night, where she would sit on the judging panel alongsideMelanie C,Layton Williams, andRob Beckett, withLorraine Kelly as host.^[49][50]

On 22 August 2022, it was announced that Courtney would play the Killer Queen in all cities except for Sydney in the Australian arena tour of theWe Will Rock You musical.^[51]

In 2023, Courtney competed on thefifth season ofThe Masked Singer Australia as Cowgirl, making her the first genderfluid contestant to compete on the show. She was unmasked on the tenth episode, after her seventh performance.^[52]

In May 2024, Courtney was the backstage correspondent for SBS's coverage of theEurovision Song Contest 2024, held inMalmö, Sweden.^[53] Courtney reprised this position alongsideTony Armstrong for the2025 Eurovision Song Contest inBasel, Switzerland.^[54]

Jenek is avegan, and identifies aspansexual,genderfluid andpolyamorous.^[55][56] In 2018, he was based in London, having previously lived in Sydney and Los Angeles.^[57] Courtney currently resides in Sydney, having purchased her first home there in 2022.^[58]

Co-headlining tours

• Access All Areas Tour (2017)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCourtney Act.

External videos
Courtney Act on changing the world through conversation,Matter Of Fact With Stan Grant,ABC News

• Official website
• Shane Jenek atIMDb
• Courtney Act discography atDiscogs

• 1982 births
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• Australian pansexual people
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