| Birth Name: | Camara DaCosta Johnson |
| Birth Date: | November 15, 1982 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Brown University |
| Children: | 1 |
| Haircolor: | Dark brown |
| Eyecolor: | Brown |
| Agency: | Ford Models |
| Years Active: | 2004–present |
Camara DaCosta Johnson (born November 15, 1982), 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 on to star in ABC's daytime drama series All My Children (2008), ABC's comedy-drama Ugly Betty (2009), and NBC's medical drama Chicago Med (2015–2022).
In 2010, she appeared in Lisa Cholodenko's film The Kids Are All Right, being nominated with the cast at the Critics' Choice Movie Award and at the Gotham Award. DaCosta starred in the Lifetime television film Whitney (2015) as singer Whitney Houston and received praise for her performance being nominated at the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Actress, TV Movie or Limited Series.[1]
DaCosta was born on November 15, 1982. She was raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.[2] She is an African-American with an Afro-Brazilian grandfather. In addition to English, she speaks Portuguese.[3] She attended the elite Northfield Mount Hermon School during high school before attending Brown University, where she majored in Africana studies and international relations.[4]
After being the runner-up 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 Childrens 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 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 . 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 from 2015 to 2021, DaCosta starred in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med as April Sexton, an ED nurse.[19] On May 14, 2021, DaCosta announced that she was leaving Chicago Med after six seasons and that before her exit she would be joining Fox's drama series Our Kind of People in the lead role;[20] [21] the new series was cancelled after 12 episodes.
DaCosta was in a relationship with independent film producer and director Joshua Bee Alafia from 2012 to 2015. 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 officially married.[22]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Take the Lead | LaRhette | |
| 2007 | Honeydripper | China Doll | |
| 2009 | Monica Washington | ||
| 2010 | Tanya | ||
| Siren | |||
| Lost and Found | - | Short film | |
| 2011 | In Time | Greta | |
| Whole Lotta Sole | Sophie | [23] | |
| The Shanghai Hotel | Kendra | ||
| 2013 | Mother of George | Sade | |
| Big Words | Annie | ||
| The Butler | Carol Hammie | ||
| 2014 | And So It Goes | Kennedy | |
| 2016 | The Nice Guys | Tally | |
| 2019 | Peel | Sarah | |
| Bolden | Nora Bolden |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | America's Next Top Model | Cycle 3; Contestant | Runner-up | |
| 2005 | Eve | Ms. Jenkins | Episode: "Prom Night" | |
| 2008 | Racing for Time | Vanessa | TV movie | |
| All My Children | Cassandra Foster | Recurring role | ||
| 2009 | Ugly Betty | Nico Slater | Recurring role (season 4) | |
| Audrina | Episode: "Anchor" | |||
| 2010 | Mercy | Brooke Sullivan | Episode: "There Is No Room for You on My Ass" | |
| Army Wives | Specialist Amber Stiles | Episode: "AWOL" | ||
| 2011 | Body of Proof | Holly Bennett | Episode: "Helping Hand" | |
| Weekends at Bellevue | Vanessa | TV movie | ||
| 2011–2012 | House | Anita | 2 episodes | |
| 2012 | Dark Horse | Amy | TV movie | |
| 2014 | Unforgettable | Molly McGinty | Episode: "Cashing Out" | |
| 2015 | The Simpsons | Princess Kemi (voice) | Episode: "The Princess Guide" | |
| Whitney | Whitney Houston | TV movie | ||
| 2015–2021 | Chicago Fire | April Sexton | 12 episodes, crossover cast | |
| 2015–2022 | Chicago Med | Main cast (seasons 1–6); Recurring role (season 8) | ||
| 2017, 2019 | Chicago P.D. | 3 episodes, crossover cast | ||
| 2018 | Faith Under Fire | Kendra | TV movie | |
| 2021–2022 | Our Kind of People | Angela Vaughn | Main cast | |
| 2023–2024 | The Lincoln Lawyer | Andrea "Andy" Freeman | Recurring role (season 2); Main cast (season 3) |
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Gold Digger" | Kanye West |
| 2006 | "Pullin' Me Back" | Chingy |
| 2007 | "Beautiful Girls" | Sean Kingston |
| "Roc Boys" | Jay-Z | |
| 2011 | "Good Man" | Raphael Saadiq |
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Teen Choice Award | Movies – Choice Breakout (Female) | Take the Lead | ||
| 2008 | Black Reel Awards | Best Ensemble | Honeydripper | ||
| 2010 | Gotham Awards | Best Ensemble Cast | The Kids Are All Right | ||
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Ensemble Acting | ||||
| Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards | Best Acting Ensemble | ||||
| 2011 | Black Reel Award | Best Breakthrough Performance | |||
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Acting Ensemble | ||||
| Central Ohio Film Critics Association | Best Ensemble | ||||
| 2016 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Actress, TV Movie or Limited Series | Whitney | [24] | |