Yaya DaCosta

Yaya DaCosta is an American actress and model who was raised in Harlem, New York City. She was the runner-up on America's Next Top Model's third cycle and began acting in 2005 with a guest role on Eve. She appeared in the dance film Take the Lead (2006) and had supporting parts in Honeydripper (2007) and The Messenger (2009). In 2010 she acted in The Kids Are All Right, sharing a Critics' Choice Movie Award nomination and a Gotham Award nomination with its cast, and in Tron: Legacy. On television, she played Cassandra Foster on All My Children and Nico Slater on Ugly Betty, and from 2008 to 2009 she appeared on Broadway in The First Breeze of Summer. She starred as Whitney Houston in the Lifetime film Whitney (2015), earning praise and a Black Reel Award nomination, and played April Sexton on Chicago Med from 2015 to 2021. She led Our Kind of People, canceled after 12 episodes.