Courtney Act

Courtney Act, the stage persona of Shane Gilberto Jenek (born 18 February 1982), is an Australian drag performer, vocalist, and media personality. Act first gained widespread public recognition as a contestant on the inaugural season of Australian Idol in 2003, becoming the first openly queer and gender-diverse participant on a televised talent competition. Over the following decades, she established an international career spanning music, television hosting, and reality programming.

Jenek was raised in Brisbane, Australia, by parents of German and Danish heritage. From a young age, he pursued performing arts, attending The Fame Talent School where he befriended twins Lisa and Jessica Origliasso, who later formed The Veronicas. Together, they spent twelve years staging pantomimes and musical acts at local shopping centers. After completing secondary studies at Sandgate District State High School, Jenek originally planned to study medicine. However, after exploring Sydney's nightlife and dramatic arts institutions, he embraced the drag scene. In 2002, inspired by Sydney drag artist Vanity Faire, Jenek adopted the stage name Courtney Act—a pun on the phrase "caught in the act"—and won the Diva Rising Star competition that same year.

Act's major breakthrough arrived during her 2003 audition for Australian Idol. After initially being turned away while auditioning as Jenek, he returned the following day in drag as Courtney Act, winning over the judges and reaching the live finals to finish in thirteenth place. Following the show, Act signed a record deal with BMG Australia (now Sony Music Australia) and released her debut single, "Rub Me Wrong," which earned a Gold certification and reached number 29 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In 2003, Act also co-founded Wigs by Vanity to design wigs specifically for drag performers.

In 2011, Act relocated to West Hollywood, California. She achieved further global recognition in 2014 on season six of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she reached the final top three as a joint runner-up without ever falling into the bottom two. That year, she became the first drag artist to perform live with the San Francisco Symphony. She also joined performers Willam Belli and Alaska to form the drag musical group The AAA Girls, appearing in American Apparel campaigns and embarking on a North American tour. As a solo recording artist, Act released the extended play Kaleidoscope in 2015, with the title track serving as the official anthem for the 2016 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Act subsequently expanded into international television and journalism. In 2016, she served as a foreign correspondent covering the United States presidential election for the Australian news site Junkee. In early 2018, she won season 21 of Celebrity Big Brother UK. This led to high-profile hosting roles, including the dating reality series The Bi Life on E! and her own broadcast special, The Courtney Act Show. She also competed in Eurovision – Australia Decides with the song "Fight for Love," placing fourth. In 2019, Act became the first drag contestant on the Dancing with the Stars franchise, finishing as runner-up on the Australian version alongside partner Joshua Keefe.

In recent years, Act has continued hosting and performing across multiple entertainment formats. She hosted the interview program Courtney Act's One Plus One on ABC Television, which received an AACTA Award nomination, and filmed the pilot Courtney's Closet. Her work includes co-hosting the podcast Brenda! Call Me, judging the ITV reality competition Queens for the Night in 2022, and portraying Killer Queen in an Australian arena production of the musical We Will Rock You. In 2023, she competed on The Masked Singer Australia as Cowgirl, and later served as SBS's backstage correspondent for the 2024 and 2025 Eurovision Song Contest broadcasts. Act currently resides in Sydney.