Yaya DaCosta

Yaya DaCosta
Name	Camara S. DaCosta Johnson
Born	November 15, 1982 (1982-11-15)
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Hometown	Harlem, New York
Season	Cycle 3
Placement	2nd
Social media	Website Facebook Instagram Twitter

Camara S. DaCosta Johnson, otherwise known as Yaya DaCosta, was a contestant on cycle 3 of ANTM in 2004. She lost to Eva in the finale and was the runner-up.

Early life

DaCosta was born in New York City. Her parents are Brazilian and Nigerian; her mom is a Montessori teacher and her dad is a professor of Sociology. She graduated from Brown University, majoring in International Relations and African Studies.

She has been acting and dancing all of her life, and attended the Manhattan East Jr. High School in NYC where she met her acting teacher.

ANTM

Yaya was known for putting the girls and the judges off because of her arrogance. However, she did do the best in most of the challenges, winning five out of eight. In episode six, she wore a shirt that said "Respeito", which is Portuguese for "Respect". This was in response to Ann and Eva ruining Cassie's brownies.

In episode eight, she was ridiculed for the judging panel challenge, calling one of the hats she didn't wear cheap, insulting the designer. The guest judge, Rebecca Weinberg, made a micro-aggression towards her, saying her "African-ness is overbearing", which Yaya took offense to.

In episode nine, she infamously spit out the food for the mock commercial judging panel challenge, causing her to be in the bottom two with Nicole, but she was saved. In the finale, Yaya won the best photo in the CoverGirl shoot, but later lost to Eva.

Call-Out Order

Yaya	Episodes
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	11	12	13
	5th	1st	4th	8th	2nd	4th	3rd	4th	5th	2nd	2nd	1st	Eliminated

Post-Show

After the show, Yaya went on to a successful modeling and acting career, and is considered to be one of the most successful Top Model alumni in the world.

She was signed to Models 1 London and Ford Models. She has modeled for Target, Olay, CharmaineLouise, DJA Clothing Company, Venus Clothing, Isaac Mizrahi, Kohl's, Elle Girl Presents Dare To Be You: Wal-Mart Meets America's Next Top Model, Marc Bouwer Fall 2005, Seda, Garnier Fructis, Lincoln Townhouse, Radioshack, Dr. Scholl's and Sephora.

She was in COED, I Style, Essence, Vibe, Interview, Jewel, Esquire, W, InStyle, The New York Post, L'Officiel Paris, Vogue US & Australia, Glamour, Sally Beauty Supply, Hype Hair, Chicago Sun-Times Splash, Latino, Malibu, and New York Family.

Acting

In 2005, Yaya had a small role in an episode of "Eve" called Prom Night. Since then she has acted in several major motion pictures; "Take the Lead", "Honeydripper", "The Shanghai Hotel", "The Messenger" and "The Kids Are All Right". She also acted in a TV movie called "Racing for Time" which received critical acclaim. In 2007, she was cast on "All My Children" as Cassandra Foster, the daughter of Angie Hubbard. She broke away from daytime television in 2008 to rave reviews Off-Broadway in "First Breeze of Summer" with Leslie Uggams. In Fall 2009, she broke into Primetime on "Ugly Betty", playing the new re-cast of "Nico", daughter to Vanessa Williams' "Whilemina" and received wide acclaim for her dramatic range and comedic timing.

She was in music videos for Kanye West's "Gold Digger", Chingy's "Pullin' Me Back", Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls", and Jay-Z's "Roc Boys".

DaCosta played the role of Whitney Houston in the Lifetime original biopic movie, "Whitney" in 2015. From 2015 to 2021, she has starred in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med as April Sexton, an ED nurse. On May 14, 2021, Yaya announced that she is leaving Chicago Med after six seasons and before her exit she has joined Fox's drama series Our Kind of People as Angela.

Personal Life

Yaya was in a long-term relationship with independent film producer and director Joshua Bee Alafia from 2012 to 2015. They have a son, Sankara (b. September 23, 2013 (2013-09-23)). In November 2015, it was reported that the two broke up. Contrary to popular reports, Yaya and Joshua were never officially married.

Trivia

• All of Yaya first call-outs were from the very first and last judgings of Cycle 3.
• Yaya is the first girl to win the CoverGirl of the Week title.
• Yaya is the first girl to win five challenges in a row.
• She is the first girl to be called first on a CoverGirl photoshoot.
• Yaya is the second mixed-race contestant to be of both Latino and African descent, following Xiomara in Season 2.

Gallery

Promo

Promo

Swimsuits in Jamaica

Makeover

Natural Beauty Shot

Lee Jeans Group

Dooney & Bourke Purses

Dooney & Bourke Purses (Close-Up)

YJ Stinger on Trampoline

Ford Alter Egos

Tarantula Beauty Shot

T-Mobile Geishas

Harajuku Motorcyclists

Covergirl

Quotes

• (About someone writing in Cassie's brownies) "Someone had the audacity to mutilate her precious brownies."
• (When asked what her shirt means) "It's "respeito." In Portuguese, it means "respect." There's a big lack of it in the house, so I felt the need to wear it today. Cassie's brownies were fingered. I just think it's immature and disrespectful, and that's exact-"
• "There's one person eliminated every single time. And that one person should not be me. And if it is, I need to have a talk with the judges."
• "Sorry Jessie, one second...... I CAN'T HEAR, I'M ON THE PHOOONE!!!!!"