Drag Star Courtney Act releases memoir

13th September 2022 BWM Staff

Behind Shane Jenek’s rise to global fame as beloved drag queen Courtney Act is a story of searching for and finding oneself. Told with Courtney’s trademark candor and wit, CAUGHT IN THE ACT: A MEMOIR, released today, September 13th, 2022 on Pantera Press, is a hilarious, often scandalous, and at times heartbreaking, peek into the entertainment icon’s journey towards understanding gender, sexuality and identity.

Shane Jenek, AKA Courtney Act. Photo by Magnus Hastings

In CAUGHT IN THE ACT: A MEMOIR, Courtney writes about growing up in Brisbane, Australia in the 80s and 90s and how adolescent Shane’s unconventional angst was pitted against the love of his traditionally wholesome parents. She shares tales of the thrill in discovering the Sydney drag scene and then unflinchingly recounts her adventures into its seedier side that led her to dabbling in methamphetamines and multiple sexual encounters with a broad spectrum of sexualities and genders including straight-identifying men.

Of course, Courtney also dives deep into her wild ride into the world of entertainment, losing so many TV reality shows and finally winning one. There’s lots of Drag Race tea spilled, too, including her shaky introduction to Adore Delano and oh… the time RuPaul blocked her on Twitter.

In CAUGHT IN THE ACT: A MEMOIR, Courtney Act does what she does best: she dazzles and titillates. At the same time, her honest reflections help readers to reexamine and appreciate wrong choices they may have made that ironically helped steer them toward the right path on their own life’s journey.

Order CAUGHT IN THE ACT: A MEMOIR on Amazon today!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

COURTNEY ACT is a drag artist, singer, advocate and cultural provocateur. She has appeared on several reality TV shows, including her breakout in 2003 on the first season of Australian Idol; making the Top 3 on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6; and taking the UK by storm on Celebrity Big Brother, which she won. When Courtney isn’t busy being glamorous on TV and stage, she’s a boy from Brisbane called Shane Jenek.

As a gender-fluid, queer person, Courtney uses her public profile to educate audiences on issues such as gender identity, sexuality, marriage equality, anti-racism and more. As a singer-songwriter she has released a pop EP and entertained audiences in her cabaret shows throughout the world. She currently splits her time following Pride parades and chasing summer between London, Los Angeles and Sydney.