It takes three hours or thereabouts at The Weekly’s photoshoot for Shane Jenek to emerge as Courtney Act, with the donning of one of a variety of blonde wigs lined up on his dressing table a glorious crowning moment. The wigs carry glamorous echoes of iconic bombshells, be it Farrah Fawcett, Marilyn Monroe or ABBA’s Agnetha, and while you can still see Shane – the chiselled cheekbones, lithe toned body and piercing blue eyes of the boy from Brighton, Brisbane, are all in beautiful evidence – Courtney really is a whole new woman. Or is she?
“That’s the interesting thing, I don’t feel different,” Shane tells me the following day, kicking back in his non-drag ‘relaxing at home’ baggy pink pants with white and pink floral short-sleeved shirt. As Shane, this 39-year-old global celebrity is movie-star handsome, impeccably polite, quietly charming; his voice slightly deeper and mannerisms less pronounced. And as I settle in for a starkly personal and often heartwrenching discussion, the searching, smart intellect behind Courtney Act the performer comes into sharp focus.
I soon realise that to see Courtney as some sort of alter ego, the sassy ‘she’ Shane perhaps longed to be growing up in suburban Queensland, is to miss the point entirely. Shane is Courtney and Courtney is Shane – they are one whole multifaceted, complex human being.
Denne historien er fra December 2021-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra December 2021-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Hitting a nerve
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Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
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The wines and lines mums
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Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
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"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
