Quick Facts
Biography
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 |
|
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 |