About me
Boy, Girl, Artist, Advocate—Courtney Act is more than just the sum of her parts.
In 2003, Shane Jenek auditioned for the first season of Australian Idol. Turned away, he bent the rules—and his gender—returning the next day as Courtney Act. A star was born. Courtney was signed to Sony/BMG and became the first drag performer in the world to debut on a major label. She then embarked on a national arena tour, setting the stage for a groundbreaking career.
In 2014, Courtney captured global attention on season six of the Emmy Award-winning RuPaul’s Drag Race, standing alongside Bianca Del Rio and Adore Delano as one of the most iconic and beloved top threes in the show’s history.
UK audiences embraced Courtney in 2018 when she won Celebrity Big Brother, taking on Anne Widdecombe in a memorable clash of ideologies. Courtney not only claimed victory but also educated millions on gender, sexuality, and even the art of tucking. This success led to hosting The Bi Life (E!), the UK’s first bisexual dating show, and starring in her very own variety Christmas special, The Courtney Act Show (Channel 4)—check out the spectacular opening number on YouTube!
Trailblazing continued in 2019 as Courtney became the first celebrity in the English-speaking world to dance with a same-sex partner on the Dancing with the Stars franchise (known as Strictly Come Dancing in the UK), even earning a coveted 10 from Craig Revel Horwood. She popped into Ramsay Street with a guest role on Neighbours, launched her hit podcast Brenda, Call Me, and competed in Eurovision: Australia Decides. Australia decided… on someone else, but Courtney got a little closer to her Eurovision dream in 2024, hosting the Australian broadcast from Malmö, Sweden.
Courtney’s live shows The Girl From Oz and Under the Covers had sell-out runs at Edinburgh Fringe and have toured theaters in the UK, Europe, Australia, Asia, and North America.
In recent years, her memoir Caught In The Act became a bestseller, she dazzled on stage as Elvira in Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit at the Sydney Opera House, and she is the anchor of the TV broadcast of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. To top it all off, Courtney Act has been immortalised with her own wax figure at Madame Tussauds Sydney.
