Alma mater Brown University Measurements 32-23-35 (US) Nationality American Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Dress size 2 (US), 32 (EU) Education Brown University | Hair color Black Name Yaya DaCosta Children Sankara Alafia Eye color Brown Role Actress | |
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Full Name Camara DaCosta Johnson Born November 15, 1982 (age 41) ( 1982-11-15 ) Harlem, New York, U.S. Spouse Joshua Bee Alafia (m. 2012) Movies and TV shows Whitney, The Butler, The Kids Are All Right, Take the Lead, Chicago Med Similar People Joshua Bee Alafia, Whitney Houston, Colin Donnell, S Epatha Merkerson, Eva Marcille Profiles | ||
b n how to style icon series top model yaya dacosta inspired
Yaya DaCosta (born Camara DaCosta Johnson; November 15, 1982) is an American actress and model. She was the runner-up in Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model. In 2015, she began starring in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med as Nurse April Sexton.
Contents
- b n how to style icon series top model yaya dacosta inspired
- Chicago med yaya dacosta behind the scenes tv interview
- Personal life
- Career
- Filmography
- References
Chicago med yaya dacosta behind the scenes tv interview
Personal life
DaCosta was born on November 15, 1982, in Harlem, New York, and is of African-Brazilian and African-American descent. In addition to English, she can speak Portuguese, French, Spanish, and conversational Japanese. 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.
On June 26, 2012, DaCosta married independent film producer and director Joshua Bee Alafia. In September 2013, she gave birth to their son, Sankara. As of November 12, 2015, DaCosta has filed for divorce from Alafia.
Career
After finishing second on Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model, DaCosta went on to have a successful career. 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.
DaCosta began acting in 2005 after guest-starring in an episode of the UPN sitcom Eve. She then starred opposite Rob Brown, Antonio Banderas and Alfre Woodard in the 2006 dance film Take the Lead. 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). 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.
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.
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. During the same year, she appeared in the magazines Vogue, L'Officiel and on the cover of W.
In 2013, she also appeared as Carol in the historical drama The Butler, starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.
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.
In 2015, DaCosta began starring in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med as April Sexton, an ED nurse.
Filmography
Actress
2023
The Lincoln Lawyer (TV Series) as
Andrea Freemann
- The Rules of Professional Conduct (2023) - Andrea Freemann
2023
Turning the Tables with Robin Roberts (TV Mini Series) as
Guest
- Community (2023) - Guest
2015
Chicago Med (TV Series) as
April Sexton
- This Could Be the Start of Something New (2022) - April Sexton
- Yep, This Is the World We Live In (2022) - April Sexton
- How Do You Begin to Count the Losses (2022) - April Sexton
- I Will Come to Save You (2021) - April Sexton
- Stories, Secrets, Half-Truths and Lies (2021) - April Sexton
- A Red Pill, a Blue Pill (2021) - April Sexton
- What a Tangled Web We Weave (2021) - April Sexton
- Some Things Are Worth the Risk (2021) - April Sexton
- Letting Go Only to Come Together (2021) - April Sexton
- So Many Things We've Kept Buried (2021) - April Sexton
- For the Want of a Nail (2021) - April Sexton
- Fathers and Mothers, Daughters and Sons (2021) - April Sexton
- Better Is the Enemy of Good (2021) - April Sexton
- Don't Want to Face This Now (2021) - April Sexton
- When Your Heart Rules Your Head (2021) - April Sexton
- In Search of Forgiveness, Not Permission (2021) - April Sexton
- Do You Know the Way Home? (2021) - April Sexton
- Those Things Hidden in Plain Sight (2020) - April Sexton
- When Did We Begin to Change (2020) - April Sexton
- A Needle in the Heart (2020) - April Sexton
- Just a River in Egypt (2020) - April Sexton
- In the Name of Love (2020) - April Sexton
- The Ghosts of the Past (2020) - April Sexton
- Who Should Be the Judge (2020) - April Sexton
- I Will Do No Harm (2020) - April Sexton
- It May Not Be Forever (2020) - April Sexton
- Pain Is for the Living (2020) - April Sexton
- Leave the Choice to Solomon (2020) - April Sexton
- The Ground Shifts Beneath Us (2020) - April Sexton
- Guess It Doesn't Matter Anymore (2020) - April Sexton
- I Can't Imagine the Future (2019) - April Sexton
- Too Close to the Sun (2019) - April Sexton
- Who Knows What Tomorrow Brings (2019) - April Sexton
- It's All in the Family (2019) - April Sexton
- Got a Friend in Me (2019) - April Sexton
- Infection, Part II (2019) - April Sexton
- In the Valley of the Shadows (2019) - April Sexton
- We're Lost in the Dark (2019) - April Sexton
- Never Going Back to Normal (2019) - April Sexton
- With a Brave Heart (2019) - April Sexton
- Forever Hold Your Peace (2019) - April Sexton
- More Harm Than Good (2019) - April Sexton
- Never Let You Go (2019) - April Sexton
- Tell Me the Truth (2019) - April Sexton
- The Space Between Us (2019) - April Sexton
- Old Flames, New Sparks (2019) - April Sexton
- We Hold These Truths (2019) - April Sexton
- Can't Unring That Bell (2019) - April Sexton
- Ghosts in the Attic (2019) - April Sexton
- The Things We Do (2019) - April Sexton
- Who Can You Trust (2019) - April Sexton
- All the Lonely People (2019) - April Sexton
- Death Do Us Part (2018) - April Sexton
- Play by My Rules (2018) - April Sexton
- The Poison Inside Us (2018) - April Sexton
- Lesser of Two Evils (2018) - April Sexton
- What You Don't Know (2018) - April Sexton
- Backed Against the Wall (2018) - April Sexton
- Heavy Is the Head (2018) - April Sexton
- When to Let Go (2018) - April Sexton
- Be My Better Half (2018) - April Sexton
- The Tipping Point (2018) - April Sexton
- Crisis of Confidence (2018) - April Sexton
- This Is Now (2018) - April Sexton
- The Parent Trap (2018) - April Sexton
- An Inconvenient Truth (2018) - April Sexton
- Devil in Disguise (2018) - April Sexton
- Lock It Down (2018) - April Sexton
- Best Laid Plans (2018) - April Sexton
- Born This Way (2018) - April Sexton
- Folie à Deux (2018) - April Sexton
- Down by Law (2018) - April Sexton
- On Shaky Ground (2018) - April Sexton
- Lemons and Lemonade (2018) - April Sexton
- Over Troubled Water (2018) - April Sexton
- Ties That Bind (2018) - April Sexton
- Mountains and Molehills (2018) - April Sexton
- Naughty or Nice (2017) - April Sexton
- Trust Your Gut (2017) - April Sexton
- Nothing to Fear (2017) - April Sexton
- Speak Your Truth (2017) - April Sexton
- Love Hurts (2017) - April Sexton
- White Butterflies (2017) - April Sexton
- Deliver Us (2017) - April Sexton
- Generation Gap (2017) - April Sexton
- Ctrl Alt (2017) - April Sexton
- Lesson Learned (2017) - April Sexton
- Monday Mourning (2017) - April Sexton
- Prisoner's Dilemma (2017) - April Sexton
- Lose Yourself (2017) - April Sexton
- Cold Front (2017) - April Sexton
- Theseus' Ship (2017) - April Sexton
- Mirror, Mirror (2017) - April Sexton
- Graveyard Shift (2017) - April Sexton
- Heart Matters (2017) - April Sexton
- Uncharted Territory (2017) - April Sexton
- Free Will (2016) - April Sexton
- Inherent Bias (2016) - April Sexton
- Alternative Medicine (2016) - April Sexton
- Extreme Measures (2016) - April Sexton
- Brother's Keeper (2016) - April Sexton
- Natural History (2016) - April Sexton
- Win Loss (2016) - April Sexton
- Soul Care (2016) - April Sexton
- Timing (2016) - April Sexton
- Withdrawal (2016) - April Sexton
- Disorder (2016) - April Sexton
- Inheritance (2016) - April Sexton
- Hearts (2016) - April Sexton
- Us (2016) - April Sexton
- Guilty (2016) - April Sexton
- Intervention (2016) - April Sexton
- Clarity (2016) - April Sexton
- Choices (2016) - April Sexton
- Reunion (2016) - April Sexton
- Saints (2016) - April Sexton
- Bound (2016) - April Sexton
- Malignant (2016) - April Sexton
- Mistaken (2015) - April Sexton
- Fallback (2015) - April Sexton
- iNO (2015) - April Sexton
- Derailed (2015) - April Sexton
2021
Our Kind of People (TV Series) as
Angela Vaughn
- Kiss It Up to God (2022) - Angela Vaughn
- It Is Not Light We Need, But Fire (2022) - Angela Vaughn
- Just Desserts (2022) - Angela Vaughn
- Twice as Hard, Twice as Good (2021) - Angela Vaughn
- Sistervention- (2021) - Angela Vaughn
- Fathers, Daughters, Sisters (2021) - Angela Vaughn
- For Colored Boys- (2021) - Angela Vaughn
- The Miseducation of the Negro (2021) - Angela Vaughn
- Crabs in a Gold-Plated Barrel (2021) - Angela Vaughn
- Hot Links & Red Drinks (2021) - Angela Vaughn
- My Mother, Myself (2021) - Angela Vaughn
- Reparations (2021) - Angela Vaughn
2015
Chicago Fire (TV Series) as
April Sexton
- Escape Route (2021) - April Sexton
- Infection, Part I (2019) - April Sexton
- Looking for a Lifeline (2018) - April Sexton
- Deathtrap (2017) - April Sexton
- On the Warpath (2016) - April Sexton
- The Beating Heart (2016) - April Sexton
- Regarding This Wedding (2015) - April Sexton
- A Taste of Panama City (2015) - April Sexton
- You Know Where to Find Me (2015) - April Sexton
- I Am the Apocalypse (2015) - April Sexton
- Forgiving, Relentless, Unconditional (2015) - April Sexton
- Forgive You Anything (2015) - April Sexton
2017
Chicago P.D. (TV Series) as
April Sexton
- Infection, Part III (2019) - April Sexton
- The Thing About Heroes (2017) - April Sexton
- Seven Indictments (2017) - April Sexton
2019
Bolden as
Nora Bolden
2019
Peel as
Sarah
2018
Faith Under Fire (TV Movie) as
Kendra
2016
The Nice Guys as
Tally
2015
The Simpsons (TV Series) as
Princess Kemi
- The Princess Guide (2015) - Princess Kemi (voice)
2015
Whitney (TV Movie) as
Whitney Houston
2014
Unforgettable (TV Series) as
Molly McGinty
- Cashing Out (2014) - Molly McGinty
2014
And So It Goes as
Kennedy (as Yaya Alafia)
2013
The Butler as
Carol Hammie (as Yaya Alafia)
2013
Big Words as
Annie (as Yaya Alafia)
2013
Mother of George as
Sade Bakare (as Yaya Alafia)
2012
Dark Horse (TV Movie) as
Amy
2012
Tron: Uprising (TV Series) as
Additional Voices
- Blackout (2012) - Additional Voices (voice)
2011
House M.D. (TV Series) as
Anita
- Runaways (2012) - Anita
- Perils of Paranoia (2011) - Anita
2011
Shanghai Hotel as
Kendra
2011
Stand Off as
Sophie
2011
Weekends at Bellevue (TV Movie) as
Vanessa
2011
In Time as
Greta
2011
Body of Proof (TV Series) as
Holly Bennett
- Helping Hand (2011) - Holly Bennett
2010
Lost and Found (Short)
2010
TRON: Legacy as
Siren #3
2010
Army Wives (TV Series) as
Specialist Amber Stiles
- AWOL (2010) - Specialist Amber Stiles
2010
Mercy (TV Series) as
Brooke Sullivan
- There Is No Room for You on My Ass (2010) - Brooke Sullivan
2010
The Kids Are All Right as
Tanya (as Yaya Dacosta)
2009
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series) as
Audrina
- Anchor (2009) - Audrina
2009
Ugly Betty (TV Series) as
Nico Slater
- Level (7) with Me (2009) - Nico Slater
- Backseat Betty (2009) - Nico Slater
- Plus None (2009) - Nico Slater
- The Wiener, the Bun and the Boob (2009) - Nico Slater
- Blue on Blue (2009) - Nico Slater (uncredited)
- The Butterfly Effect: Part 2 (2009) - Nico Slater
- The Butterfly Effect: Part 1 (2009) - Nico Slater
2009
The Messenger as
Monica Washington
2008
All My Children (TV Series) as
Cassandra Foster
2008
Racing for Time (TV Movie) as
Vanessa
2007
Honeydripper as
China Doll
2006
Take the Lead as
LaRhette
2005
Eve (TV Series) as
Ms. Jenkins
- Prom Night (2005) - Ms. Jenkins
Producer
2011
Let's Stay Together (producer)
Self
2014
Entertainment Tonight (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #41.8 (2021) - Self
- Episode #40.307 (2021) - Self
- Episode dated 7 January 2015 (2015) - Self
- Episode dated 26 July 2014 (2014) - Self
- Episode dated 22 July 2014 (2014) - Self
2021
The Real (TV Series) as
Self
- Yaya DaCosta (2021) - Self
2019
-Dash (TV Series documentary)
- Noah x2 (2019)
2013
Made in Hollywood (TV Series) as
Self
- Long Shot/The Intruder/El Chicano/The Last Summer/Bolden (2019) - Self
- Episode #8.39 (2013) - Self (as Yaya Alafia)
2019
Ok! TV (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #4.139 (2019) - Self
- Episode #4.128 (2019) - Self
2015
Inside Edition (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Episode #26.83 (2015) - Self
2014
Gag Reel (Video short) as
Self (as Yaya Alafia)
2013
The Butler: An American Story (TV Movie documentary) as
Self (as Yaya Alafia)
2008
39th NAACP Image Awards (TV Special) as
Self
2006
E! True Hollywood Story (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- America's Next Top Model (2006) - Self
2005
2005 MuchMusic Video Awards (TV Special) as
Self
2004
America's Next Top Model (TV Series) as
Self
- The Girl Who Wins It All (2004) - Self
- The Girl Who Didn't Hug Goodbye (2004) - Self
- The Girl the Lionesses Are Hunting (2004) - Self
- The Girl Who Goes Ballistic (2004) - Self
- The Girls Meet Taye Diggs (2004) - Self
- The Girl Who Is Panic Stricken (2004) - Self
- The Girl Who Forgot Her Shoes (2004) - Self
- The Girl Who Mutilated the Precious Brownies (2004) - Self
- The Girl Who Cries When She Looks in the Mirror (2004) - Self
- The Girl Who Sets a Trap (2004) - Self
- The Girl Who Everyone Thinks Is a Backstabber (2004) - Self
- The Girl Who Is Co-Dependent (2004) - Self
- The Girl with the Secret (2004) - Self
Archive Footage
2017
Entertainment Tonight Canada (TV Series) as
Self from 2015
- Chicago Universe: On The Front Lines with ET Canada (2017) - Self from 2015
2015
Entertainment Tonight (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode dated 10 January 2015 (2015) - Self
References
Yaya DaCosta Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA