Courtney Act
Australian drag queen

Courtney Act

The basics
Quick facts
Intro
Australian drag queen
Gender:
Female
Places:
Birth:
18 February 1981(Brisbane, Queensland, Australia)
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The details
Biography

Introduction

Shane Gilberto Jenek (born 18 February 1982; better known by her stage name Courtney Act) is an Australian drag queen, pop singer, entertainer and reality television personality. As Courtney Act, Jenek was a semi-finalist on Australian Idol in 2003 and was the third singer of the competition to release an official solo single, following Guy Sebastian and Shannon Noll. The single, "Rub Me Wrong", was released in 2004, which peaked at #29 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Act was one of the runner ups in season six of RuPaul's Drag Race.

Early life

Act was born Shane Gilberto Jenek in Brisbane and attended Sandgate District State High School. She later moved to Sydney at the age of 18. She originally intended to take the name Ginger Le'Bon and be a "redheaded, smoky voiced nightclub singer."Instead, she took the stage name Courtney Act, which is a pun on the phrase caught in the act as pronounced in a non-rhotic accent such as Australian English.

Career

In December 2013, Logo announced that Courtney Act was among 14 drag queens who would be competing on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. She later went on to become a finalist in the competition, alongside fellow contestants Adore Delano and Bianca Del Rio, but in the season finale lost the title to Bianca Del Rio.

In July 2014, Courtney Act became the first drag performer in history to sing live with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Act appeared as a guest performer with Cheyenne Jackson in "Hello, Gorgeous! Cheyenne Jackson Goes to the Movies". The two sang a duet of "Elephant Love Song" from the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film Moulin Rouge.

In September 2014, Courtney Act, along with Willam Belli and Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, were the first drag queens to become ad girls for American Apparel. They worked for the campaign Support Artists, Support Ethical Manufacturing of the fashion brand, featuring three limited exclusive T-shirts that honors each drag queen's talents and allure.

Courtney also has a Wig Company called Wigs By Vanity that she set up in 2003 for drag queens with a business partner and fellow drag queen, Vanity Faire.

In December 2015, Courtney was featured on two singles from the Christmas Queens LP, "From Head To Mistletoe", and "Christmas Sweater" with fellow American Apparel ad girls Willam and Alaska.

As of 2016, Act has been a foreign correspondent for the Australian news website, Junkee. Act covered the Presidential election of 2016 for the site, attending rallies of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Following Trump's election, Act also participated in and reported on the 2017 Women's March.

In February 2017, Act featured on a single with American recording artist Bielfield entitled 'Dance Again' which was released with Sony Music Australia.

Discography

Extended plays

Title Details
Kaleidoscope
  • Released: July 7, 2015
  • Label: Courtney Act
  • Formats: CD, digital download

Singles

As lead artist

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
AUS
US
Comedy
Digital
"Rub Me Wrong" 2004 29 Non-album singles
"Welcome to Disgraceland" 2010
"To Russia with Love" 2014
"Mean Gays"
"American Apparel Ad Girls"
(with Willam and Alaska)
10 Shartistry in Motion
"Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man"
(with Willam and Alaska)
Non-album single
"Ecstasy" 2015 Kaleidoscope
"Ugly"
"Body Parts"
"Kaleidoscope" 2016
"Wigs by Vanity Single Jingle"
(with Vanity Faire)
Non-album singles
"Chandelier / Diamonds / Titanium (Medley)"
"Stayin' Alive"

As featured artist

Title Year Album
"Downton Abbey...Snore"
(Jimmy Ray Bennett, Stephen Guarino & Jeff Hiller featuring Willam Belli, Vicky Vox & Courtney Act)
2013 Non-album singles
"Oh No She Better Don't"
(RuPaul featuring Drag Race Season 6 Cast)
2014
"Dance Again" Bielfield featuring Courtney Act 2017 Dance Again

Other appearances

Title Year Album
"Champion"
(RuPaul featuring Courtney Act)
2014 RuPaul Presents: The CoverGurlz
"The Shade of It All"
(Alaska Thunderfuck featuring Courtney Act and Willam)
2014 Anus

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2013 Meet the Glamcocks Herself Documentary
2015 Luna Goes Cruising Koda (voice) Shortfilm
This Is Drag Herself Documentary

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2000 Snick Flicks Herself (host) Aired on Nickelodeon Australia for 6 months on Saturdays
2003 Australian Idol Herself (contestant) Season 1 - Placed joint 13th with wildcard contenders
2010 Sleek Geeks Herself Season 2, Episode 8: "Wee Across the World"
2012 Are You There, Chelsea? Herself Episode 8: "Dee Dee's Pillow"
2012 I Will Survive Herself Episode 4
2014 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself (contestant) Season 6 - Top 3
2014 Candidly Nicole Herself Episode 2

Web series

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2012–13 Transfashionable Herself // Herself Produced by The Stylish
2014 Reality Relapse Herself Produced by BiteSizeTV
Transformations Herself Produced by WOWPresents
Hey Qween! Herself Produced by Jonny McGovern

Music videos

Title Year Director Ref.
"Rub Me Wrong" 2004 Anthony Rose
"Welcome to Disgraceland" 2010 Kain O'Keeffe
"Oh No She Better Don't" 2014 Eve, Trina
"To Russia with Love" Rami Mikhail
"Mean Gays" Kain O'Keeffe
"American Apparel Ad Girls" Shawn Adeli
"Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man" Mairin Hart
"Ecstasy" 2015 William Baker
"Ugly" Courtney Act, Kain O'Keefe
"Body Parts" Marvin Joseph
"Christmas Sweater" Kain O'Keefe
"From Head To Mistletoe" Kain O'Keefe
"Kaleidoscope" 2016 Wallaby Way
"Wigs by Vanity Single Jingle" N/A
"Stayin' Alive"
"Chandelier / Diamonds / Titanium (Medley)"

Music video appearances

Title Year Director Ref.
"Applause" (Lyric video)
(Lady Gaga)
2013 Lady Gaga
"Sissy That Walk"
(RuPaul)
2014 Steven Corfe
"Jump the Gun"
(Adore Delano)
2015 Josef J. Weber