Courtney Act & Vanity join NOVA Entertainment with the launch of the new podcast ‘Brenda, Call Me!’
Courtney Act and Vanity are the latest names to join the Nova Podcast Network with Brenda, Call Me! launching on Thursday 11 February.
Best friends, drag superstars and sisters in crime, Courtney Act and Vanity catch up on what’s got them fired up each week. Chatting all things drag, what’s going on in their lives and in the world around them - so grab a cocktail and get ready to dish! As for Brenda? You’ll have to listen to find out who she is…
From the political to the downright silly, no topic is off limits. They’ll even call up a celebrity friend along the way to help them nut it out.
The show is camp, high energy and features plenty of sass, with each wildly entertaining episode transporting you into the conversation, no matter where you are in the world.
Courtney said, “'Brenda, call me’ is the text Vanity and I send to each other when we want to chat. We have been friends for 20 years, lived all around the world, in different time zones, and we are super excited for you to listen in on our best friend conversations, we're just glad they are not live and the legal department will be reviewing them before they hit your ear drums.”
Vanity said, “We thought we were going to be recording this podcast on opposite sides of the world, but Ms. Rona has reunited us and we're super excited to be sitting face to face giving our unsolicited Australian drag opinions on all sorts of topics. Courtney doesn't actually know why we call each other "Brenda" so make sure you tune in when I explain its origins.”
Artist, advocate and performer, Courtney Act aka Shane Jenek burst onto screens in 2003 when she made it to the semi-finals of the premiere season of Australian Idol; bringing her style, gender fluidity and talent into Australian homes. Since then she has continued her global rise appearing on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Celebrity Big Brother UK and Dancing With The Stars as well as hosting the UK’s first bisexual dating show E!’s The Bi Life. In 2014 she released her debut EP Kaleidoscope; with her online videos having been viewed over 40 million times and released her own original stage acts including 2017’s sold out The Girl From Oz, which appeared at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and 2020’s FLUID. In March 2021 Courtney will again co-host SBS’s Mardi Gras coverage.
A talented performer and master wig stylist, Vanity has become legendary within the drag scene, both in business and on stage. Australian drag royalty, Vanity aka Benjamin Moir, started the hugely successful wig company Wigs by Vanity with Courtney Act and their wigs are donned by queens around the globe including RuPaul and Conchita Wurst.
Courtney and Vanity met at infamous Sydney gay and drag nightclub Stonewall with 18-year-old Shane describing Vanity as “the supermodel of Sydney drag”. Vanity took Shane under her wing saying, “I didn’t have the heart to tell her to f* off, I was like “come on, let me show you the way child”. So was the beginning of a beautiful friendship spanning 20 years and counting.
Rachel Corbett, NOVA Entertainment’s Head of Podcasts and Digital Content said, “A show hosted by best friends who have conquered the world of drag, built a business together and can run for a cab in 12 inch heels? What's not to love?”
NOVA Entertainment hosts the best Australian and international podcasts in investigative journalism, love, dating, comedy, entertainment, business and technology, health and lifestyle including Its A Lot with Abbie Chatfield, The Space with Casey Donovan, The Chaser Report, Cameron and Alison Daddo’s Separate Bathrooms and Other Handy Marriage Tips and many more.
Brenda, Call Me! is available on the Nova Podcast Network, with a new episode launching every Thursday from Thursday 11 February. Episodes are available here or wherever you access your podcasts.