Shane Gilberto Jenek[1] (born 18 February 1982),[2] better known under the stage name Courtney Act, is an Australian drag queen, singer and television personality. [56][57] In 2018, he was based in London, having previously lived in Sydney and Los Angeles.[58]. [5], Although Humphries freely stated that Edna was a character he played, Edna referred to Humphries as her "entrepreneur" or manager. And now that you've read this handy explainer, why not get out to your local gaybar and take in some live drag? Visage told Stop Everything! In June 2013, Dame Edna returned in a Sydney Opera House production of Peter and the Wolf. 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The Aussie performer made it down the final three in season six of RuPaul's Drag Race. 17 Drag Queens From Down Under That Need To Be On "RuPaul's Drag Race" Tools Shane Gilberto Jenek [1] (born 18 February 1982), [2] better known under the stage name Courtney Act, is an Australian drag queen, singer and television personality. [50][51] Act's podcast with Vanity Faire, also got renewed for a second season, Brenda! Courtney Act - Latest news, views, gossip, pictures, video - The Mirror [11] She entered the Diva Rising Star competition in 2002 and won. ", Another queen who was subsequently cast in the show, Art Simone, told Stop Everything! In 2013, Dame Edna announced her final tour of the United Kingdom. The show opened as the second production for the newly refurbished Henry Miller's Theatre and was planned to run from 18 March through 18 July 2010 (with previews beginning on 22 February), but lukewarm reviews and low ticket sales led to the limited engagement being cut short and closing on 4 April 2010, after 27 previews and 20 regular performances. [47], In 2021 it was announced that Courtney would become the new host of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's long form television interview show Courtney Act's One Plus One,[48] which was nominated for an AACTA Award. "He" always feels a bit aggressive in drag", "How Courtney Act became drag royalty and one of the most famous drag queens", "Also my Mum is Danish, my Dad is German, and I'm moving to Londonso if Australia don't want me in 2019", "GIRL TALK: A Candid Conversation with Courtney Act", "Marco Marco Fashion Show at LA Fashion Week - Courtney Act", "Drag queen Courtney Act partner explained", "Courtney Act talks about her feud with RuPaul", "Music From the Movies with Cheyenne Jackson and the SF Symphony", "Ethically Made - Sweatshop Free - American Apparel", "Willam, Courtney Act, and Alaska Serve Face for American Apparel", "Anus by Alaska Thunderfuck on AppleMusic", "Drag Race star Courtney Act says Single AF was like "Big Brother on steroids", "Adelaide Fringe Announces 2018 Ambassadors", "Drag Queens Willam, Alaska, Courtney Act Hit The Road For Fullscreen-Produced Tour", "Interview: AAA Girls' Courtney Act on upcoming tour and 'RuPaul's Drag Race', "Channel 4 confirms Courtney's own TV special", "Courtney Act has just landed her very own TV show with Channel 4", "E! Usually he when I'm a boy and she when I'm a girl. [12] Growing up, Jenek would always dress up and sing and dance. Dame Edna Everage - Wikipedia I'm not racist. The show started out as a low-budget affair (see: the first season's lighting) that premiered on Logo (a small, queer cable TV channel) in 2009, before evolving into a VH1 juggernaut with a cash prize of US$100,000. Carlotta featured in a selection of documentaries about Sydneys drag scene, notably The Glittering Mile and The Naked Bunyip. Long before Drag Race, Carlotta (the stage name of Carol Byron) was foundational in establishing a specifically Aussie mode of drag that both queer and straight Australians embrace one that is outlandish, flamboyant, irreverent and ocker. On 8 August 2008 she appeared on Loose Women on the final show of that year's series. (Perry died at the age of 100 in 2008 and Dame Edna's daughter Valmai replaced her on stage). The Squared Division served as creative directors and Jae Fusz served as choreographer. Close up of Drag Queen holding sign that reads: "God Save The American Queens." . There are your traditional fishy queens like Courtney Act, comedy queens like the incomparable Dame Enda, campy queens like April Fools, goth queens like Aurora, and even androgynous queens like Tora Hymen. Rupaul's Drag Race Down Under: A guide to the Australian version - ABC '", "And I would say, the amount of jokes in this show that go straight over straight people's heads [means] it is for us, and just [because it's] for everyone as well, doesn't mean it's not for us anymore.". Edna was known for her outlandish spectacles. The film follows a 37-year-old woman with Down syndrome who runs away from home and embarks on a journey from Kalgoorlie to Perth, forming an unlikely friendship with an outback drag queen. It is located by the Yarra river near Harbour Town which also includes statues of singer John Farnham, Dame Nellie Melba, and Graham Kennedy. [45] During the show, Dame Edna attempts to dispose of Madge's ashes from the porthole of her luxury yacht, The Ocean Widow, but is prevented from doing so to protect the environment. On 18 March 2012, Humphries announced he would "retire" the Dame Edna character because he was "beginning to feel a bit senior".[7]. Dame Edna performed the "Last Night of the Poms" at the Royal Albert Hall accompanying the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on 15 September 2009 and on 21 September, she appeared as a guest on Channel 4's "The Paul O'Grady Show". "It just happened instantly, and it was the perfect name and the perfect fit," Shane said of choosing 'Courtney Act'. The show think America's Next Top Model but for drag queens is a certified pop culture phenomenon and the most-awarded reality TV competition in Emmy history. [6], In March 2012, Humphries announced that the character would be retired at the end of the current stage tour,[7] but later in 2013 he decided to bring her back. In December 2014 the group released a Christmas song, "Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man", which was featured in the first Christmas Queens (2015). [36][37][38] 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". Drag historian Joe E. Jeffreys told Time: "Drag is a theatrical form. In the same year The Dame Edna Experience, ostensibly a talk show which she described as "really a monologue interrupted by total strangers" aired, featuring high-profile "celebrity guests" such as Sean Connery, Mel Gibson, Joan Rivers, and Germaine Greer (an old friend of Humphries'), as well as Madge, her silent, sour-faced "bridesmaid and travelling companion". (Supplied: Tina Fielding) The sketch involved a houseproud "average housewife" offering her Moonee Ponds home as an Olympic billet, spruiking her home as possessing "burgundy wall-to-wall carpets, lamington cakes and reindeers frosted on glass dining-room doors".[21]. Although initial media interest may have treated her as a curiosity because of her gender, Carlotta as a cultural presence became something much more than that. [52] In June 2022, it was revealed that Act would become a judge on new ITV reality competition show, Queens for the Night, where she will sit on the judging panel alongside Melanie C, Layton Williams and Rob Beckett, with Lorraine Kelly as host. Courtney was declared safe. Humphries and his staff of assistants and writers only referred to Edna as "she" and "her", never mixing the character with Humphries. [9] In 2022, it was announced that Act would be a judge on the ITV reality competition series, Queens for the Night. "The thong dress in Priscilla is a pretty perfect boil-down of what we do it's crafty, it's high camp, it's a reference to something," says Nicholson. In the ninth episode's challenge, the queens had to host their own talk show and interview celebrity guests: Cher's son Chaz Bono and his grandmother (Cher's mother), Georgia Holt. [citation needed], Accompanied by her daughter Valmai in America and Sir Les Patterson in the UK, Dame Edna again toured with what was declared My First Last Tour. In becoming the global beacon of drag, Drag Race has set new ideals for what it means to do drag. In 1982, Dame Edna's alter-ego Barry Humphries was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for "services to the theatre"[18] and on 16 June 2007 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to entertainment.[19]. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The alluring twist was that all the beautiful, bedazzled showgirls onstage were actually queer men. Absent from much mainstream drag imagery are the many drag kings and gender diverse drag performers. Then Karen from Finance apologised for a racist tattoo (now covered) and doll collection (now disposed of). The drag queen was announced as part of the first ever line-up of the Australian and New Zealand series at the beginning of March, but other queens have slammed her appearance considering. This is a list of drag[1] queens, sometimes known as female impersonators, drag performers, or drag artists. [29] In 2017, Courtney reunited with The AAA Girls for the Access All Areas Tour (2017). On 19 September 2019, Dame Edna appeared on the Today programme with John Humphrys. [55], Jenek is a vegan, and identifies as pansexual, genderfluid and polyamorous. This was followed by "Ugly", "Body Parts" and the title track song "Kaleidoscope". Madge never spoke a public word (although she sang on Comic Relief), and while she was often the butt of Dame Edna's jokes, the two were devoted. Australia; Belgique; Belgi . As a result, Dame Edna almost believed that Norm's cremation was a "waste of money". [11] He began to think something was wrong with him during his teenage years. 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[23], According to John Lahr, Edna came into her own during the 1980s when the policies of Thatcherismand what he described as the "vindictive style of the times"allowed Dame Edna to sharpen her observations accordingly. Dame Edna was praised for her insights into her homeland. [31], In 2018, Courtney entered the Celebrity Big Brother house, the day after New Year's Day, and remained in the house for 32 days, eventually winning the season, beating Ann Widdecombe. In what would become the final appearance of the character before Humphries' death, Dame Edna returned to the BBC for a one-off special, Dame Edna Rules The Waves, in which she (belatedly) publicly acknowledged the death of Madge, first broadcast on BBC1 on 31 December 2019.
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