2002: Beginnings and Australian Idol Jenek's
drag queen career began in 2002 when he met
Sydney drag queen Vanity Faire. but, instead, he decided upon the stage name Courtney Act as, in a
non-rhotic accent like the
Australian accent, the phrase "caught in the act" is heard. In the first TV vote Courtney did not advance; however, the judges brought her back as a wildcard.
2003-2013: Record deal and ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' After the completion of the
first season of Australian Idol, Courtney went on tour with the finalists of the show. In 2003, Courtney signed a major record deal with
BMG Australia now known as
Sony Music Australia. Courtney 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. Courtney returned to the club scene and began working with the up-and-coming
Lady Gaga. Courtney is the only queen from Australia ever to be featured on the show. Episode 4 featured Courtney as the main challenge winner. In September 2014, Courtney, along with
Willam Belli and
Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, were the first drag queens to become ad girls for
American Apparel, known as
The AAA Girls. She worked for the campaign Support Artists, Support Ethical Manufacturing from the fashion brand. The group released their debut single "
American Apparel Ad Girls". The song charted at number 10 on the
Billboard Comedy Digital songs chart: the song would later feature in Belli's solo album,
Shartistry in Motion (2014). In December 2014 the group released a
Christmas song, "
Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man", which was featured in the first
Christmas Queens (2015). The album also saw Courtney cover a solo version of "
Twelve Days of Christmas". Again in June 2015, the group reunited to record for Alaska's debut studio album
Anus (2015), where they collaborated on the track "The Shade of It All". In July 2015, Courtney returned to her solo recording career and created the
extended play Kaleidoscope (2015). The album generally received positives from critics and it saw the release of lead single "Ecstasy". This was followed by "Ugly", "Body Parts" and the title track song "
Kaleidoscope". The latter featured as the
official song for the 2016
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Courtney stated: "I feel that gender and sexuality are fluid and so often we get stuck in the rigidity. Who knows when someone outside your usual target zone might come also and sweep you off your feet?”. , 2017. Courtney is seen on the right, with
Willam on the left and
Alaska in the middle. In late 2017, Courtney appeared in
Single AF, broadcast on
MTV UK. In February 2018, Courtney was appointed one of two Fringe Ambassadors at the
Adelaide Fringe, presenting the show
Under the Covers there. In 2017, Courtney reunited with The AAA Girls for the
Access All Areas Tour (2017). Produced by
Fullscreen Live, the tour played in 15 cities in the United States and Canada. The Squared Division served as creative directors and Jae Fusz served as choreographer. In 2018, Courtney entered the
Celebrity Big Brother house, and remained in the house for 32 days, eventually winning the season, beating
Ann Widdecombe. Jenek appeared as both Courtney and himself throughout the season, being referred to "him" out of drag and "her" in drag. 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. The show featured performances from
Bianca Del Rio,
Adore Delano,
Darienne Lake and
Leona Lewis. Jenek also hosted the dating reality show
The Bi Life, appearing both as Courtney Act and Shane, which premiered in Ireland and the United Kingdom on 25 October 2018 on
E! Courtney competed with the song "
Fight for Love" on
Eurovision – Australia Decides in February 2019 to represent
Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, but was not successful, losing out to
Kate Miller-Heidke with the song "
Zero Gravity". The show received positive reviews. In 2019, Courtney competed in the
16th season of the Australian version of
Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Joshua Keefe, where they came second. Courtney and Keefe topped the leader board with their performance in the first episode. On 1 March 2019, it was announced that Courtney had filmed a guest role as herself in the Australian soap opera
Neighbours. Her scenes aired in 2020. In late 2019, Courtney featured in
Celebrity Come Dine with Me. Courtney appeared twice as a contestant on the quiz show
Celebrity Mastermind; the British version in 2018, and the Australian version in 2020.
2021-present In 2021 it was announced that Courtney would become the new host of
ABC Television's long-form television interview show ''Courtney Act's
One Plus One'', which was nominated for an
AACTA Award. It was revealed that
Network 10 had commissioned a
pilot of Act's interview television series called ''Courtney's Closet'', which transformed a different celebrity guest into drag each week while also learning about their personal journey, and premiered on
video on demand streaming website
10 Play as part of its Pilot Showcase series. Act's podcast with Vanity Faire also got renewed for a second season,
Brenda! Call Me. The show was world's largest LGBTQIA+ podcast, with the first season reaching 750,000 listens across 170 countries worldwide since debuting in February 2021. In June 2022, it was announced that Courtney 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. On 22 August 2022, it was announced that Courtney would play the Killer Queen in all cities except for Sydney in the Australian arena tour of the
We Will Rock You musical. In 2023, Courtney competed on the
fifth season of
The Masked Singer Australia as Cowgirl, making her the first genderfluid contestant to compete on the show. She was unmasked on the tenth episode, after her seventh performance. In May 2024, Courtney was the backstage correspondent for SBS's coverage of the
Eurovision Song Contest 2024, held in
Malmö, Sweden. Courtney reprised this position alongside
Tony Armstrong for the
2025 Eurovision Song Contest in
Basel, Switzerland. ==Personal life==