15 of the best queens ever on RuPaul’s Drag Race

LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 25: Courtney Act attends the photocall of MTV’s new show “Single AF” at MTV London on June 25, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)

Courtney Act

Like Willam, Courtney Act already established herself as a performer before ever appearing on RuPaul’s Drag Race. But her star power was brighter down under in Australia, so Drag Race was her way of branching out to a whole new audience. She never won the show and she never appeared on All Stars, but she had bigger things on her mind.

Courtney first appeared on the first season of Australian Idol in 2003. When she auditioned as a boy she didn’t make it through, so she went back in drag and wowed them as Courtney, becoming the first drag queen contestant on the show (and probably on any singing competition at the time). She made it through to the semi-finals and released her own solo music after leaving the competition.

In 2013, she was announced as one of the queens competing on the sixth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and after already being such a big deal in Australia, she was seen as a threat. She may have been told to “stop relying on that body” by judge Michelle Visage, but that didn’t stop her from landing in the finale with Bianca Del Rio and Adore Delano.

Since the show, Courtney has founded the wig company Wigs by Vanity with her best friend and fellow drag performer, Vanity, and of course performed alongside Willam and Alaska in the AAA Girls. She’s also released her own solo music and was a correspondent for news website Junkee, which had her covering — in drag — a number of events, including the 2016 presidential elections.

Courtney has made a bigger splash, however, on a number of other reality shows. She appeared on the dating show Single AF on MTV UK in 2017, then competed both in and out of drag on Celebrity Big Brother in the UK, which she eventually won. She hosted the bisexual dating show The Bi Life, and landed her own late-night talk show The Courtney Act Show on Channel 4. She also just wrapped a stint on Dancing with the Stars in Australia in full drag with a male partner, coming in second place.

Courtney is a fierce advocate for LGBTQ rights and her boldness and visibility in the mainstream media is what makes her such an iconic Drag Race alum.