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Learn about Courtney Act, the stage name of Shane Gilberto Jenek, who rose to fame on Australian Idol and RuPaul's Drag Race. Find out about her music, TV shows, awards, activism and personal life.
1M Followers, 7,025 Following, 4,109 Posts - Courtney Act (@courtneyact) on Instagram: "Management: wendy@workingmanagement.com.au".
Feb 24, 2023 · Watch Courtney Act perform a song celebrating LGBTQI+ history and culture at the Sydney WorldPride Opening Concert. Hosted by Courtney Act and Casey Donovan, featuring Kylie Minogue, Charli XCX and Jessica Mauboy.
- 5 min
- 28.1K
- ABC iview
Courtney Act. Caught In The Act, my best selling memoir, is available all around the world on Amazon, Audible, Kindle and your local queer bookshop!
- Overview
- Biography
- Name Origin
- RuPaul's Drag Race
- Entrance Quote
- Memorable Quotes
- Trivia
Courtney Act is an Australian drag queen, performer, music artist, one of the "Wigs by Vanity" owners and The Bi Life TV show hostess, known for being a contestant on Season 1 of Australian Idol and Season 6 of RuPaul's Drag Race, as well as the Season 21 winner of Celebrity Big Brother UK, and the runner-up of Dancing with The Stars Australia.
Courtney Act born in Brisbane, Australia to Gill Jenek and Annette Jenek and grew up with 2 siblings. She attended Sandgate District High School and later moved to Sydney, Australia at the age of 18. Initially, Act had went to audition for theatre schools but found herself in a year-long contract with Nickelodeon as a movie night host. After the contract expired, she started selling candy as a drag queen at nightclubs to make money.
In 2003, Courtney (as Shane Jenek) auditioned for the 1st season of "Australian Idol" without much success. She came back the next day and auditioned again (as Courtney Act) and made it through to the next rounds. She was considered to be "strangely, the sexiest woman on the show". She became a semi-finalist and was the third singer of the competition to release a solo single, "Rub Me Wrong".
In December 2013, Logo TV announced that Courtney Act was amongst 14 drag queens who would be competing in the 6th season of "RuPaul's Drag Race". Doing so, she ended as a runner-up.
In February 2018, she was announced as the Season 21 winner of "Celebrity Big Brother UK". In April 2019, she was announced as the runner-up on Season 16 of the Australian edition of "Dancing with the Stars".
"Courtney Act" is a play on "caught in the act", as pronounced in a non-rhotic accent like Australian English.
In the beginning Season 6, Courtney was criticized by RuPaul, who told her to "turn it up" since she was "resting on pretty", a comment on which Act felt offended by since she considered other contestants in the competition to be "resting on ugly". However, since this happened, she improved a lot and won two main-challenges (on episodes 4 and 9).
Act, alongside fellow contestant Bianca Del Rio, went on to place in the Top 3 without ever placing in the Bottom 2 on any episode. This was the first time two contestants have accomplished this during the same season. Although she didn't win the competition, she did place as a runner-up with fellow contestant Adore Delano, who coincidentally was an "American Idol" contestant.
"Is this America's next top model? No? Sorry..." *leaves room but runs back in* "Just kidding!"
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6
•"Courtney knows how to do sexy." •"I don't do dairy, but for Milk I'll make an exception." •"Courtney... The first time, every time." •"My voice is really high I could be lying?" •"I can look good, I can sing good, I can dance well." •"Sewing is not my forte but... everything else is." •"I can look like Linda, and walk like Naomi, get messed up like Kate, and you don't even know me. Looking like this is a goddamn stunt. All you other bitches better lick my...foot." (Verse in Oh No She Betta Don't) •"Well, everyone is resting on ugly, why can't I rely on being pretty?" •"In her own unique way, so no." (answering if she thought Bianca Del Rio was pretty) •"As you may have all gathered from my accent... I am from Idaho! I'm kidding, I'm from Australia! Land of kangaroos, land of Olivia Netwon-John and throw another shrimp on the barbie!. Well, what if I don't want shrimp thrown on me!? I want to LOOK fishy, not SMELL fishy." •"I wanna see this on BLOGS, I wanna see this on FACEBOOK, ain't nobody gonna top this." (referring to her "animal kingdom" runway look on episode 9 of Season 6) •"Now I'm ready for anything!" (On Australian Idol, 2003) •"Both of the girls, on the same beat of the song, not looking at eachother JUMP into the splits and hit the floor. It is SO good." (referring to Joslyn Fox and Laganja Estranja when they do the double splits in their lipsyncs) •"Trinity is lipsyncing the house down boots. I don't know what that means but shes doing it." (Referring to Trinity K Bonet's lipsync against April Carrion) •"I had gold bamboo hoop earrings Michelle!"
•On Season 6, Courtney became...
•...the first contestant ever to win the Rusical Challenge.
•...the third Runner-Up to never be up for elimination, after Nina Flowers and Alaska.
•...along with Bianca Del Rio, the only winner and runner-up pairing to never be up for elimination.
•...the first contestant to walk down the runway with articulated wings.
•...the second finalist ever to reach the finale with having received mostly positive critiques in only two competing episodes, after Jujubee.
2 days ago · Courtney Act is also returning to Brisbane for the city’s new River Pride Parade on November 9. The drag star is the parade ambassador, leading a flotilla of loud and colourful vessels from William Jolly Bridge to Brisbane Powerhouse, during this year’s queer arts festival Melt.
Mar 16, 2020 · Courtney Act is a drag queen from Sydney who's wowing the world … and middle Australia. But for a long time the man behind the make-up, Shane Jenek, was jealous of Courtney's popularity.
