Yaya DaCosta

New York born-and-bred Yaya Alafia began her professional acting career starring in Liz Friedlander's Take the Lead, opposite Antonio Banderas. This was followed by a lead role in John Sayles' Honeydripper, in which she played opposite Danny Glover and Charles S. Dutton. Alafia then reunited with Mr. Dutton in the telefilm Racing for Time, which Mr. Dutton also directed.

In 2009, she appeared in Oren Moverman's acclaimed The Messenger with Ben Foster and Academy Award® nominee Woody Harrelson, followed by appearances in Lisa Cholodenko's Oscar-nominated The Kids Are All Right, opposite Mark Ruffalo; Joseph Kosinski's Tron Legacy, Andrew Niccol's sci-fi thriller In Time, opposite Amanda Seyfried and Justin Timberlake, and Terry George's Irish comedy Stand Off, as Brandon Frasier's Ethiopian immigrant love interest. In 2013, Alafia appeared in Neil Drumming's Big Words and Andrew Dosunmu's Mother of George.

Alafia's television work includes a notable story arc in the final season of Ugly Betty, portraying the duplicitous daughter of Whilemina (Vanessa Williams), a recurring role on the daytime drama All My Children, as well as appearances on House, Body of Proof, Army Wives, Mercy, Law and Order SVU, and Eve.

Alafia's theater work includes a passionate portrayal of Olivia in the Sonnet Repertory Theater's production of Twelfth Night, and a co-starring role with Leslie Uggams in The Signature Theater Company's revival production of Leslie Lee's The First Breeze of Summer, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. For her performance, Alafia was honored with a Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Award for Excellence in Black Theatre.

In addition to acting, Alafia does speaking engagements at colleges on subjects ranging from environmentalism to women's issues. She holds a BA in International Relations and Africana Studies from Brown University.

Follow Through Productions