Yaya DaCosta

Camara DaCosta Johnson (born November 15, 1982), better known as Yaya DaCosta, is an American actress and model. She was the runner-up in Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model. DaCosta eventually went to star in TV series including ABC's daytime drama All My Children (2008), Ugly Betty (2009), and since 2015 stars in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med. DaCosta starred in the Lifetime television film Whitney (2015) as singer Whitney Houston and received praise for her performance.[1]

Yaya DaCosta
DaCosta in September 2010
Born	Camara DaCosta Johnson November 15, 1982 New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	Brown University
Partner(s)	Joshua Bee Alafia (2012–2015)
Children	1
Modeling information
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Hair color	Dark Brown
Eye color	Brown
Agency	Ford Models

Early life

DaCosta was born on November 15, 1982, in New York City, and is of Brazilian and African-American descent. She was raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.[2][3] In addition to English, she can speak Portuguese, French, and Spanish [4] She attended the elite Northfield Mount Hermon School during her high school years before attending college where she majored in Africana Studies and International Relations at Brown University.

Career

After finishing second on Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model, DaCosta went on to have a successful career.[5] DaCosta only appeared once in the bottom two during the competition. She has appeared in advertisements for Garnier Fructis, Lincoln Townhouse, Oil of Olay, Radioshack, Seda, Sephora and Dr. Scholl's. She has graced the covers of numerous magazines, including W,[6] Hype Hair,[7] Splash and Global Modeling. In 2014, she landed a spot in Tom Ford’s Fall/Winter advertising campaign.[8] DaCosta began acting in 2005 after guest-starring in an episode of the UPN sitcom Eve.[9] She then starred opposite Rob Brown, Antonio Banderas and Alfre Woodard in the 2006 dance film Take the Lead.[10] DaCosta had supporting roles in the independent films Honeydripper (2007) and The Messenger (2009).

She appeared in the ABC soap opera All My Children in 2008 as Cassandra Foster, the daughter of Angie Hubbard (Debbi Morgan).[11] According to an interview with All My Children's new head writer, Charles Pratt, Jr., DaCosta left the role some time in August 2008, less than four months after joining the show, to join the cast of The First Breeze of Summer on Broadway. The First Breeze of Summer was presented from 2008 to 2009 by the historic Negro Ensemble Company.[12] In 2009, she had a recurring role as Nico Slater, the daughter of Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) in the fourth and final season of the ABC comedy-drama series Ugly Betty.[13]

In 2010, DaCosta had supporting roles in the comedy-drama film The Kids Are All Right and the science fiction action-adventure film Tron: Legacy. Later, she appeared in the magazines, including on the cover of W (September 2010),[14] in L'Officiel (in November 2010),[15] and in Vogue (in January 2011 by Patrick Demarchelier).[16] In 2013, she also appeared as Carol in the historical drama film The Butler, starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.[17]

In 2015, it was announced in an interview with actress Angela Bassett on CNN that DaCosta would star as musical icon Whitney Houston in a Lifetime television film about her life, which was Bassett's directorial debut. DaCosta received high praise for her performance.[18] Also since 2015, DaCosta has starred in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med as April Sexton, an ED nurse.[19]

Personal life

DaCosta was in a long term relationship with independent film producer and director Joshua Bee Alafia. In September 2013, she gave birth to their son, Sankara. In November 2015, it was reported that DaCosta and Alafia broke up. Contrary to popular reports, DaCosta and Alafia were never married.[20]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Take the Lead	LaRhette
2007	Honeydripper	China Doll
2009	The Messenger	Monica Washington
2010	The Kids Are All Right	Tanya	Premiered at 2010 Sundance Film Festival
2010	Tron: Legacy	Siren
2011	In Time	Greta
2011	The Shanghai Hotel	Kendra
2011	Whole Lotta Sole	Sophie	Shown at Tribeca Film Festival 2012, Spotlight series (world premiere)[21]
2013	Mother of George	Sade
2013	The Butler	Carol Hammie
2013	Big Words	Annie
2014	And So It Goes	Kennedy
2015	Whitney	Whitney Houston	Lifetime biopic
2016	The Nice Guys	Tally
2019	Bolden	Nora Bolden
2019	Peel	Sarah

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Eve	Ms. Jenkins	1 episode
2008	All My Children	Cassandra Foster	Series regular; 44 episodes
2008	Racing for Time	Vanessa	Lifetime Television film
2009	Ugly Betty	Nico Slater	Recurring role, Season 4; 7 episodes
2009	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Audrina	Episode: "Anchor"
2010	Mercy	Brooke Sullivan	1 episode
2010	Army Wives	Amber	1 episode
2011	Body of Proof	Holly Bennett	Episode: "Helping Hand"
2011–12	House	Anita	Recurring role; 2 episodes
2012	Dark Horse	Amy	Television film
2015	The Simpsons	Princess Kemi of Nigeria	Episode: "The Princess Guide"
2015–19	Chicago Fire	April Sexton	Recurring role; 11 episodes
2015–present	Chicago Med		Main role; 103 episodes
2017–19	Chicago P.D.		3 episodes

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist
2005	"Gold Digger"	Kanye West
2006	"Pullin' Me Back"	Chingy
2007	"Beautiful Girls"	Sean Kingston
2007	"Roc Boys"	Jay-Z
2011	"Good Man"	Raphael Saadiq

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Film	Result
2006	Teen Choice Award	Movies – Choice Breakout (Female)	Take the Lead	Nominated
2008	Black Reel Awards	Best Ensemble	Honeydripper	Nominated
2010	Gotham Awards	Best Ensemble Cast	The Kids Are All Right	Nominated
	Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards	Best Ensemble Acting		Nominated
	Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards	Best Acting Ensemble		Nominated
2011	Black Reel Award	Best Breakthrough Performance		Nominated
	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Acting Ensemble		Nominated
	Central Ohio Film Critics Association	Best Ensemble		Nominated

References

1. "Critics express faith in lifetimes upcoming Whitney Houston biopic". Clutch magazine. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
2. Yaya Dacosta at Fashion Model Directory
3. News, ABC. "5 Things About Yaya DaCosta, Star of Whitney Houston Biopic".
4. "yata slams nigerian roots".
5. "Top Model Contestants We Can't Forget". AOL Entertainment Canada. Archived from the original on 2008-12-18.
6. "Yaya DaCosta and Zoe Kravitz Cover W Magazine's September "New It Girls" Issue – Fashion Bomb Daily Style Magazine: Celebrity Fashion, Fashion News, What To Wear, Runway Show Reviews". fashionbombdaily.com. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
7. "Digital Cover: Yaya DaCosta On Celebrating Her Natural Tresses On & Off The Big Screen". Retrieved 2019-09-05.
8. "Yaya DaCosta Stars in new Tom Ford Ad". Essence. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
9. "Where are the models of ANTM now?". Retrieved 18 January 2018.
10. "Antonio Banderas and Katya Virshilas in 'Take the Lead'". LA Times. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
11. "All My Children's Next Top Model". ABC.com. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
12. "The First Breeze of Summer". variety.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
13. "'Ugly Betty' recast: 'Top Model' alum is Willie's daughter!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
14. Magazine, W (1 September 2010). "Film: Young Actresses".
15. Sulmers, Claire. "Snapshot: Yaya DaCosta for L'Officiel Paris November 2010". 30 November 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
16. Sulmers, Claire. "Snapshot: Yaya DaCosta by Patrick DeMarchelier for Vogue US January 2011". Retrieved 12 January 2019.
17. "EXCLUSIVE: Yaya DaCosta On 'The Butler' & Maintaining Those Gorgeous Locks". latina.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
18. "Lifetime's 'Whitney': What the Critics Are Saying". hollywood reporter. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
19. "Yaya DaCosta Says 'Chicago Med' Opened Her Eyes on Beauty and Western Medicine". essence.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
20. Yoonsoo Kim, Kristen (2016-05-13). "Yaya DaCosta's Journey From 'America's Next Top Model' to Top Billing". Complex. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
21. "TFF 2012: Spotlight". tribecafilm.com, Inc. March 8, 2012. Archived from the original on April 10, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-28.

External links

• Yaya Dacosta at Fashion Model Directory
• Yaya DaCosta at IMDb