Yaya DaCosta Biography

Yaya DaCosta (born Camara DaCosta Johnson; November 15, 1982) is an American actress and fashion model. She was the runner-up in Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model. Following her marriage to Joshua Bee Alafia in June 26, 2012 she has taken to using the name Yaya Alafia.

Early life

Of African American, Brazilian, and Nigerian descent, DaCosta was born on November 15, 1982 in Harlem, New York. In addition to English, she can speak Portuguese, French, Spanish, and conversational Japanese. 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. 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 having a guest role on an episode of the television show 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 on All My Children in 2008 as Cassandra Foster, the daughter of Angie Hubbard. According to an interview with All My Children's new head writer, Charles Pratt, Jr., DaCosta exited 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"2009 by the historic Negro Ensemble Company.

In 2009, she portrayed Nico Slater, the daughter of Wilhelmina Slater on the 4th season of the ABC series, Ugly Betty.

In 2010 DaCosta had supportings role in the films The Kids Are All Right and Tron: Legacy. During the same year she appeared in American Vogue, L'Officiel and on the cover of W. On June 26, 2012, DaCosta married independent movie producer and director Joshua Bee Alafia. Follpwing her marriage, she bagan publicly going by Yaya Alafia. She gave birth to the couple's first child, a son named Sankara, in September 2013. In 2013 she also appeared as Carol in the film The Butler, starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Take the Lead	LaRhette
2007	Honeydripper	China Doll
2008	Racing for Time	Vanessa	Lifetime Television Movie
2009	'	Monica Washington
2010	'	Tanya	Premiered at 2010 Sundance Film Festival
2010	Tron: Legacy	Siren
2011	In Time	Greta
2011	Whole Lotta Sole	Sophie	Shown at Tribeca Film Festival 2012, Spotlight series (world premiere)
2013	The Butler	Carol Hammie

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Eve	Ms.Jenkins	1 episode
2008	All My Children	Cassandra Foster	Recurring; 44 episodes
2009	Ugly Betty	Nico Slater	Recurring; Season 4; 7 episodes
2009	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Audrina	1 episode
2010	Mercy	Brooke Sullivan	1 episode
2010	Army Wives	Amber	1 episode
2011	Body of Proof	Holly Bennett	1 episode
2011–2012	House	Anita	2 episodes
2012	Dark Horse	Amy	TV Movie

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist
2006	Pullin' Me Back	Chingy
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
2008	Black Reel Award	Best Ensemble	Honeydripper
2010	Gotham Awards	Best Ensemble Cast	The Kids are All Right
2010	Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards	Best Ensemble Acting	The Kids are All Right
2010	Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards	Best Acting Ensemble	The Kids are All Right
2011	Black Reel Award	Best Breakthrough Performance	The Kids are All Right
2011	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Acting Ensemble	The Kids are All Right
2011	Central Ohio Film Critics Association	Best Ensemble	The Kids are All Right
2011	Chlotrudis Awards	Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast	The Kids are All Right