Courtney Act

Courtney Act
Courtney Act in April 2014
Born	Shane Jenek February 18, 1982 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Residence	West Hollywood, California
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Television personality drag performer singer

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.^[1] 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.^[2][3] 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.^[4] He originally intended to take the name Ginger Le'Bon and be a "redheaded, smoky voiced nightclub singer." ^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[7] 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.^[8]

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.^[9]

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.^[10]

In December 2015, Courtney was featured on two singles from the Christmas Queens LP,^[11] "From Head To Mistletoe", and "Christmas Sweater" with fellow American Apparel ad girls Willam and Alaska.

Discography

Extended plays

Title	Details
Kaleidoscope	Released: July 7, 2015[12] Label: Courtney Act Formats: CD, digital download

Singles

As lead artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
		AUS [13]	US Comedy Digital [14]
"Rub Me Wrong"[15]	2004	29	—	Non-album singles
"Welcome to Disgraceland"[16]	2010	—	—
"To Russia with Love"[17]	2014	—	—
"Mean Gays"[18]		—	—
"American Apparel Ad Girls"[19] (with Willam and Alaska)		—	10	Shartistry in Motion
"Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man"[20] (with Willam and Alaska)		—	—	Non-album single
"Ecstasy"[21]	2015	—	—	Kaleidoscope
"Ugly"		—	—
"Body Parts"		—	—
"Kaleidoscope"	2016	—	—
"Wigs by Vanity Single Jingle"[22] (with Vanity Faire)		—	—	Non-album singles
"Chandelier / Diamonds / Titanium (Medley)"[23]		—	—
"Stayin' Alive"[24]		—	—

As featured artist

Title	Year	Album
"Downton Abbey...Snore"[25] (Jimmy Ray Bennett, Stephen Guarino & Jeff Hiller featuring Willam Belli, Vicky Vox & Courtney Act)	2013	Non-album singles
"Oh No She Better Don't"[26] (RuPaul featuring Drag Race Season 6 Cast)	2014

Other appearances

Title	Year	Album
"Champion"[27] (RuPaul featuring Courtney Act)	2014	RuPaul Presents: The CoverGurlz
"The Shade of It All"[28] (Alaska Thunderfuck featuring Courtney Act and Willam)	2014	Anus

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2013	Meet the Glamcocks	Himself	Documentary	[29]
2015	Luna Goes Cruising	Koda (voice)	Shortfilm	[30]
	This Is Drag	Himself	Documentary	[31]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2000	Snick Flicks	Himself (host)	Aired on Nickelodeon Australia for 6 months on Saturdays	[32]
2003	Australian Idol	Herself (contestant)	Season 1 - Placed joint 13th with wildcard contenders	[33]
2010	Sleek Geeks	Himself	Season 2, Episode 8: "Wee Across the World"	[34]
2012	Are You There, Chelsea?	Himself	Episode 8: "Dee Dee's Pillow"	[35]
2012	I Will Survive	Himself	Episode 4	[36]
2014	RuPaul's Drag Race	Himself (contestant)	Season 6 - Top 3	[37]
2014	Candidly Nicole	Himself	Episode 2	[38]

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2012–13	Transfashionable	Himself // Herself	Produced by The Stylish	[39]
2014	Reality Relapse	Himself	Produced by BiteSizeTV	[40]
	Transformations	Himself	Produced by WOWPresents	[41]
	Hey Qween!	Himself	Produced by Jonny McGovern	[42]

Music videos

Title	Year	Director	Ref.
"Rub Me Wrong"	2004	Anthony Rose	[43]
"Welcome to Disgraceland"	2010	Kain O'Keeffe	[44]
"Oh No She Better Don't"	2014	Eve, Trina	[45]
"To Russia with Love"		Rami Mikhail	[46]
"Mean Gays"		Kain O'Keeffe	[47]
"American Apparel Ad Girls"		Shawn Adeli	[48]
"Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man"		Mairin Hart	[49]
"Ecstasy"	2015	William Baker	[50]
"Ugly"		Courtney Act, Kain O'Keefe	[51]
"Body Parts"		Marvin Joseph	[52]
"Christmas Sweater"		Kain O'Keefe	[53]
"From Head To Mistletoe"		Kain O'Keefe	[54]
"Kaleidoscope"	2016	Wallaby Way	[55]
"Wigs by Vanity Single Jingle"		N/A	[56]
"Stayin' Alive"			[57]
"Chandelier / Diamonds / Titanium (Medley)"			[58]

Music video appearances

Title	Year	Director	Ref.
"Applause" (Lyric video) (Lady Gaga)	2013	Lady Gaga	[59]
"Sissy That Walk" (RuPaul)	2014	Steven Corfe	[60]
"Jump the Gun" (Adore Delano)	2015	Josef J. Weber	[61]

References

1. Bruno, Bel (9 December 2003). "Drag idol: Sydney's Shane Jenek was rejected by Australian Idol until he became Courtney Act. Now he's headed to the USA". The Advocate. LPI Media. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
2. "Discography Courtney Act". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
3. "Drag idol: Sydney's Shane Jenek was rejected by Australian Idol until he became Courtney Act. Now he's headed to the USA.(Interview)". The Advocate. 9 December 2003.
4. "Courtney Act: Boys Like Me". Nytheatre.com. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
5. "GIRL TALK: A Candid Conversation with Courtney Act". Phillymag.com. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
6. Marco Marco Fashion Show at LA Fashion Week
7. Beard, Lanford (9 December 2013). "'RuPaul's Drag Race': Check out the sickening season 6 supertease and meet the queens -- EXCLUSIVE VIDEO". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
8. "Music From the Movies with Cheyenne Jackson and the SF Symphony". San Francisco Symphony.
9. http://store.americanapparel.net/drag-queen-tee_cat1750904
10. http://wigsbyvanity.com/about/herstory
11. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/from-head-to-mistletoe/id1052800436?i=1052801509
12. "Courtney Act - Kaleidoscope EP". Kickstarter. May 22, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
13. "Discography Courtney Act". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
14. "Billboard Chart Archive" (To access, type "Courtney" in the artist bar, then select "Comedy Digital Tracks" in the chart name bar). Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
15. "Courtney Act - Rub Me Wrong (Song)". ARIA. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
16. "iTunes - Music - Welcome to Disgraceland - Single by Courtney Act". iTunes. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
17. "iTunes - Music - To Russia With Love - Single by Courtney Act". iTunes. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
18. "iTunes - Music - Mean Gays - Single by Courtney Act". iTunes. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
19. "iTunes - Music - American Apparel Ad Girls - Single by Willam, Courtney & Alaska". iTunes. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
20. "iTunes - Music - Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man - Single by Willam, Alaska Thunderfuck & Courtney Act". iTunes. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
21. "iTunes - Music - Ecstasy - Single by Courtney Act". iTunes. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
22. "iTunes - Music - Stayin' Alive - SingleCourtney Act". iTunes. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
23. "iTunes - Music - Chandelier / Diamonds / Titanium (Medley) - Single Courtney Act". iTunes. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
24. "iTunes - Music - Stayin' Alive - Single Courtney Act". iTunes. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
25. "iTunes - Music - Downton Abbey...Snore (feat. Willam Belli, Vicky Vox & Courtney Act) - Single byJimmy Ray Bennett, Stephen Guarino & Jeff Hiller". iTunes. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
26. "iTunes - Music - Oh No She Better Don't (feat. The Cast of Rupaul's Drag Race Season 6) - Single by RuPaul & DJ ShyBoy". iTunes. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
27. "iTunes - Music - RuPaul Presents the CoverGurlz by RuPaul". iTunes. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
28. "Anus - Alaska Thunderfuck". Amazon. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
29. "Meet The Glamcocks". MeetTheGlamcocks.com. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
30. Tharrett, Matthew (April 23, 2015). "Darren Criss, Robbie Rogers and Lance Bass Are Total Dogs In Adorable Short, "Luna Goes Cruising"". New Now Next. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
31. "This Is Drag - OUTTv". Out TV. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
32. https://twitter.com/courtneyact/status/625556749932756992. Missing or empty |title= (help)
33. "Shane Jenek set Australian Idol on fire more than a decade ago as Courtney Act, now she takes on Ru Paul in the US". The Daily Telegraphy. May 4, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
34. "IMBD - Sleek Geeks - "Weeing"". IMBD. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
35. "Catch Pandora on "Are You There, Chelsea?" 3/1/12 on NBC!". PandoraBoxx.com. February 22, 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
36. "Twitter / courtneyact: Tonight on I Will Survive tune ...". Twitter. September 4, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
37. "Imma be on RuPaul's Drag Race!!!!!". CourtneyAct.com. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
38. "A Party By Candidly Nicole's Rules". VH1. July 24, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
39. "Death by Drag!". OUT. October 30, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
40. "Courtney Act Interview EXCLUSIVE". Youtube. June 30, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
41. "James St. James and Courtney Act: Transformations". Youtube. October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
42. "Watch: 'Hey Qween!' Season 2 Debuts with Special Guest Courtney Act". Queerty. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
43. "Rub Me Wrong - Courtney Act". YouTube. May 29, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
44. "Welcome To Disgraceland - Courtney Act (Official Music Video) HD". YouTube. July 1, 2010. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
45. RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6 Episode 6 sneak peek. YouTube. March 26, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
46. "To Russia With Love - Courtney Act". YouTube. February 18, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
47. "Mean Gays - Courtney Act". YouTube. May 15, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
48. "American Apparel Ad Girls with Courtney Act, Alaska 5000 and Willam #AAAgirls". YouTube. September 30, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
49. "Dear Santa, Bring Me A Man - Alaska, Courtney Act & Willam". YouTube. December 8, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
50. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVQZej293Lk&feature=youtu.be
51. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q5Gwb82UFI
52. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5arwJJZBZdA
53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9a_WtSJr28
54. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceL9TymRCRY
55. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH8Gsd1HVkA
56. "It's World Wig Week and we've got a song fit for the occasion!". Facebook. September 19, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
57. Act, Courtney (September 9, 2016). "Stayin' Alive - Courtney Act". Youtube. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
58. {{cite web|last1=Act|first1=Courtney|title=Chandelier, Diamonds, Titanium - Sia Medley - Courtney Act|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52tTBP2SF0Q|website=Youtube|accessdate=October 25, 2016|date=October 24, 2016}
59. "Sydney drag sweetheart Courtney Act performs for megastar Lady Gaga at Micky's, West Hollywood". The Daily Telegraph. August 29, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
60. RuPaul's Sissy That Walk Official Music Video. YouTube. May 12, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
61. Adore Delano - Jump the Gun (Official). YouTube. March 10, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.

External links

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