Yaya DaCosta Teases ‘Chicago Med’ Season 1 Finale; Reveals If She Will Ever Return To Modeling

Yaya DaCosta has successfully managed to transition from modeling to acting. Even though the 33-year-old beauty got her start as a contestant on Tyra Bank’s “America’s Next Top Model,” DaCosta has gone on to land several gigs on the small and big screen.

At the Operation Smile Gala in New York on May 12, where Kate Hudson was honored with the Universal Smile Award, DaCosta chatted with International Business Times about her role on NBC’s “Chicago Med” and if she plans on modeling again in the future.

On “Chicago Med,” DaCosta plays nurse April Sexton, who the actress calls a “complex person” who also knows how to have a bit of fun. “She is so serious about her work but so young and has so much integrity, but also has fun,” DaCosta told IBT. “She’s a really dynamic woman. It’s not often that we get to play dynamic characters so I just love her. I learn more about her the more the writers write about her.”

In a synopsis for the show’s Season 1 finale, airing Tuesday, it teases that April gets punched by a “disorderly patient.” However, the incident turns out to be a “blessing in disguise.” DaCosta wouldn’t reveal too many details about the finale, titled “Timing,” but teased that her “jaw dropped” when she read the script. “I hope yours does too,” she said. “It’s really, really some exciting stuff. We have the best writers.”

DaCosta’s role on the NBC drama is far from her only acting gig. In the 12 years since gaining recognition as “America’s Next Top Model” cycle 4 runner up, she has appeared in a number of TV shows and movies, such as “Take the Lead” and “Whitney,” the Lifetime biopic where she starred as the late singer Whitney Houston. Up next, fans can see DaCosta starring alongside Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in “The Nice Guys,” which hits theaters Friday. DaCosta, who plays the gun-toting assistant to Kim Basinger’s character told IBT the experience was “a lot of fun.”

When asked about her modeling past, DaCosta revealed she’s open to doing a campaign “here and there” but said acting has her full attention right now. “In the last few years, I’ve really been able to focus on [acting] because it takes a lot of time and energy, especially with all these things we want to do in life we kind of have to make decisions about what your priorities are, and sometimes make sacrifices and [acting] kept ringing true as my passion,” she explained.