Courtney Act - Courtney Act

Shane Gilberto Jenek (born 18 February 1982; better known by his 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 the runner up 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. He later moved to Sydney at the age of 18. He originally intended to take the name Ginger Le'Bon and be a "redheaded, smoky voiced nightclub singer." Instead, he 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.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other appearances

Filmography

Film

Television

Web series

Music videos

Music video appearances

References

External links

• Official website
• Shane Jenek at the Internet Movie Database
• Courtney Act discography at Discogs