1. In 2014, Courtney Act was one of the runners-up in season six of RuPaul's Drag Race.
43 Facts About Courtney Act
1. 2.
In 2014, Courtney Act released the extended play Kaleidoscope ; the title-track was the official song for the 2016 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
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In January 2018, Courtney Act appeared on season 21 of Celebrity Big Brother UK and ultimately won the series.
4.
In 2019, Courtney Act competed and was runner-up on season 16 of the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars, where she was paired with Joshua Keefe.
5.
In 2022, Courtney Act was a judge on the ITV reality competition series, Queens for the Night.
6.
Courtney Act was born to Gill and Annette Jenek and has an older sister named Kim.
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Courtney Act's mother is of Danish descent and his father is of German descent; they worked in Kings Cross and befriended cabaret performer and TV personality Carlotta.
8.
Courtney Act began to think something was wrong with him during his teenage years.
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Courtney Act attended Nashville Primary School in Brighton, but his parents wanted him to go to a private school for his secondary studies, so he transferred to St Paul's Anglican School in Bald Hills a year early to "acclimatise".
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Courtney Act first attended the Stonewall Club in the mid-90s and Jenek states that was the start of his "big queer life".
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Courtney Act was intrigued by the visual feminine illusion Faire would create once she was in drag and this inspired him to begin his drag career.
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Courtney Act has stated that in 2002, when she began performing in drag, one had to "fight" and "earn" one's place as a drag queen.
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Courtney Act entered the Diva Rising Star competition in 2002 and won.
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In 2003, while working as a waiter at Jimmy's on the Mall, a restaurant in Brisbane, Courtney Act auditioned for the inaugural season of Australian Idol.
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Courtney Act first appeared as Jenek, but the judges, Ian Dickson, Marcia Hines and Mark Holden, told Jenek that his voice was "just not up to it".
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Courtney Act finished in thirteenth place on the show, but remained highly popular throughout Australia.
17.
Together with business partner and fellow drag queen Vanity Faire, Courtney Act operates Wigs by Vanity; they started the company in 2003, the year Courtney Act auditioned for idol, with the aim of producing wigs for drag queens.
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In 2003, Courtney Act signed a major record deal with BMG Australia now known as Sony Music Australia.
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Courtney Act released her debut single "Rub Me Wrong" the following year in March 2004, where the song reached a peak of number 29 on the ARIA Charts and gaining a gold certification by the charts.
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Courtney Act returned to the club scene and began working with the up-and-coming Lady Gaga.
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In December 2013, Logo TV announced that Courtney Act was among the 14 drag queens who would be competing on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.
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Courtney Act is the only queen from Australia ever to be featured on the show.
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Courtney Act was the fourth contestant during the show's six seasons not to have fallen into the bottom two throughout the competition.
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Courtney Act placed as joint runner-up alongside Adore Delano, behind winner Bianca Del Rio.
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In July 2014, Courtney Act became the first drag performer in history to sing live with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.
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Courtney Act worked for the campaign Support Artists, Support Ethical Manufacturing from the fashion brand.
27.
The album saw Courtney Act cover a solo version of "Twelve Days of Christmas".
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In July 2015, Courtney Act returned to her solo recording career and created the extended play Kaleidoscope.
29.
In 2016, Courtney Act was the foreign correspondent for the Australian news website, Junkee.
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Courtney Act covered the US Presidential election 2016 for the site, attending rallies of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
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In late 2017, Courtney Act appeared in Single AF, broadcast on MTV UK.
32.
In February 2018, Courtney Act was appointed one of two Fringe Ambassadors at the Adelaide Fringe, presenting the show Under the Covers there.
33.
In 2018, Courtney Act entered the Celebrity Big Brother house, and remained in the house for 32 days, eventually winning the season, beating Ann Widdecombe.
34.
Channel 4 confirmed The Courtney Act Show, with Courtney saying that she would be "working with some of [her] favourite artists", which was broadcast on Christmas Eve of 2018.
35.
In 2019, Courtney Act competed in the 16th season of the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Joshua Keefe, where they came second.
36.
Courtney Act is the first drag performer in the history of the Dancing with the Stars franchise.
37.
On 1 March 2019, it was announced that Courtney Act had filmed a guest role as herself in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.
38.
In late 2019, Courtney Act featured in Celebrity Come Dine with Me.
39.
Courtney Act appeared twice as a contestant on the quiz show Celebrity Mastermind; the British version in 2018, and the Australian version in 2020.
40.
In June 2022, it was announced that Courtney Act would become a judge on new ITV reality competition show, Queens for the Night, where she would sit on the judging panel alongside Melanie C, Layton Williams, and Rob Beckett, with Lorraine Kelly as host.
41.
In 2023, Courtney Act competed on the fifth season of The Masked Singer Australia as Cowgirl, making her the first genderfluid contestant to compete on the show.
42.
Courtney Act was unmasked on the tenth episode, after her seventh performance.
43.
In May 2024, Courtney Act was the backstage correspondent for SBS's coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, held in Malmo, Sweden.