Yaya DaCosta began her career on supermodel Tyra Bank’s brainchild America’s Next Top Model: Cycle 3. Costa was a fan and judge favorite (I watched every week just to see DaCosta’s amazing photos) but in the final episode she was named runner-up.  

But as Academy Award winning actress Jennifer Hudson knows, not winning a reality television show isn’t the end of the world.  

The multilingual, multiethnic DaCosta was born Harlem, New York and attended Brown University where she majored in African Studies and International Relations. She eventually decided to put her books away and pursue her passion for dancing, modeling and acting. 

DaCosta began her acting career in 2005 on the television show Eve. In 2006 she starred opposite Antonio Banderas and Alfre Woodard in the film Take the Lead, and in 2009 she played Vanessa Williams’s daughter on the ABC series, Ugly Betty. 

DaCosta has been photographed for Oil of Olay and Sephora, appeared on Broadway in The First Breeze of Summer and is now taking Hollywood by storm, appearing in A-list films with A-list stars. Most recently, she had a supporting role in the criticially acclaimed indie film The Kids Are All Right, starring Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, where she showcased her emotional range, andher naked body in a very graphic sex scene with co-star Mark Ruffalo. 

What’s next for Yaya? She has a supporting role in the upcoming Disney film Tron: Legacy. 

Check out the trailer: 

Personally, I’d like to see her take on a super-hero role. 

What do you think?