Yaya DaCosta Height, Weight, Age, Boyfriend, Family, Facts, Biography

Publish date: 2024-05-22

Yaya DaCosta Quick Info
Height	5 ft 7 in
Weight	56 kg
Date of Birth	November 15, 1982
Zodiac Sign	Scorpio
Eye Color	Dark Brown

Yaya DaCosta is a talented American actress renowned for her roles in All My Children, Ugly Betty, Chicago Med, The Kids Are All Right, Tron: Legacy, In Time, The Shanghai Hotel, The Butler, And So It Goes, and The Nice Guys. As a model, she was a runner-up at the 3rd edition of America’s Next Top Model in 2004. She has also obtained a degree in Africana Studies and International Relations from Brown University. Yaya has over 500k followers on Instagram and more than 90k followers on Twitter.

Born Name

Camara DaCosta Johnson

Nick Name

Yaya DaCosta, Yaya Alafia, Yaya Da Costa Johnson

Sun Sign

Scorpio

Born Place

Harlem, New York City, New York, United States

Residence

She divides her time between New York City and Chicago.

Nationality

Education

Yaya DaCosta completed her high school education from the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Mount Hermon, Massachusetts. Later, she attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and graduated with a degree in Africana Studies and International Relations.

She was also accepted into LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York. However, she didn’t attend it.

Occupation

Model, Actress

Family

Father – Carl Awolowo Johnson (Former Acupuncturist)
Mother – Orundun DaCosta
Siblings – Djassi DaCosta Johnson (Sister), Mamadou Johnson (Brother), Djani Johnson (Brother)

Manager

Yaya DaCosta is managed by –

Ford Models, Modeling Agency Company, New York City, New York, United States
The Gersh Agency, Inc., Talent Agency, Beverly Hills, California, United States

Build

Slim

Height

5 ft 7 in or 170 cm

Weight

56 kg or 123.5 lbs

Boyfriend / Spouse

Yaya DaCosta has dated –

Joshua Bee Alafia (2012-2015) – On June 26, 2012, Yaya tied the knot with the independent film producer and director, Joshua Bee Alafia, in Pennsylvania. They were blessed with a son named Sankara (born, September 2013). However, after 2 years, their marriage started to fall apart and on November 12, 2015, Yaya filed for divorce from her husband. On October 6, 2018, in an Instagram post, Yaya revealed that her former husband, Joshua, had sexually assaulted her.

Race / Ethnicity

Multiracial

She has Brazilian, West African, Cherokee Native American, and Irish ancestry.

Hair Color

Dark Brown

Eye Color

Dark Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

Curly hair
High cheekbone
Beautiful cat eyes

Shoe Size

8 (US) or 38.5 (EU) or 5.5 (UK)

Brand Endorsements

Yaya DaCosta has done endorsement work for brands like –

Garnier Fructis
Lincoln Townhouse
Oil of Olay
Radioshack
Seda
Sephora
Scholl’s

Best Known For

Appearing on the 3rd season of the reality TV show, America’s Next Top Model (2004), in which she finished as the 1st runner-up
Her performances in numerous TV series including All My Children as Cassandra Foster, Ugly Betty as Nico Slater, and Chicago Med as April Sexton
Portraying numerous roles in films like Honeydripper (2007), The Messenger (2009), The Kids Are All Right (2010), Tron: Legacy (2010), In Time (2011), The Shanghai Hotel (2011), The Butler (2013), Big Words (2013), And So It Goes (2014), and The Nice Guys (2016)

First Film

In 2006, she made her theatrical film debut as LaRhette in the dance drama film, Take the Lead.

First TV Show

In 2004, she made her first TV show appearance in the reality show, America’s Next Top Model.

In 2015, she made her TV show debut as a voice actress in the popular animated comedy series, The Simpsons, as Princess Kemi.

Personal Trainer

Yaya DaCosta tries to balance her workout routine with her busy schedule. She goes to workout at the gym in her building whenever she has the time or she indulges in some calisthenics workout at home. Earlier, she used to attend dance and yoga classes regularly.

As for her diet, she praises her high metabolism for keeping her in shape. She has admitted that she loves to eat and can eat a lot. She has also revealed that she is happy when she is asked to put on weight for a role in any of the films rather than losing weight.

She has tried to be vegan a couple of times but was unsuccessful every time as she loves ice cream. So, she remains vegetarian.

Yaya DaCosta Favorite Things

Harlemite – Tupac
Childhood Book – Oh, the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss

Source – Madamenoire

Yaya DaCosta Facts

At the age of 11, she gave her first performance in junior high school.

She is well versed in Portuguese, French, Spanish, and conversational Japanese languages.

She has also appeared in numerous music videos like “Gold Digger” (2005) for Kanye West and Jamie Foxx, “Pullin’ Me Back” (2006) for Chingy, and “Beautiful Girls” (2007) for Sean Kingston.

Her dream role is to play a Marvel character or a role in a film like Kill Bill.

Her first Off-Broadway play was “The First Breeze of Summer” in 2008 at The Signature Theater.

In 2008, she won the Vivian Robinson /AUDELCO Recognition Award for Excellence in Black Theater for her part in The First Breeze of Summer.

In 2015, she played the role of singer Whitney Houston in the Lifetime TV movie, Whitney, and received positive reviews for her performance.

She has been featured in magazines like Vogue U.S. (January 2011), L’Officiel Paris (November 2010), Miss Ebene (November /December 2016), and W (September 2010).

When young, she used to crochet clothes for her dolls. After she started acting, she started crocheting for herself in her free time and used to wear those clothes in wrap parties.

She loves silence.

Yaya has a cat named Osho.

According to Yaya, she has cat-like reflexes.

She worships the sun and moon equally.

Yaya loves metaphysics and has studied Akashic records, Kundalini yoga, Buddhism, and Ifá.

She prefers communicating with people in their local language wherever possible as she likes it.

She is a trained dancer.

Yaya is a full-spectrum birth doula.

Brazil is like a second home to her.

Visit her official website @ yayadacosta.com.

Featured Image by Yaya DaCosta / Instagram

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