Africa`s top models

Camara Yaya Dacosta Johnson

is a talented Harlem-born model and actress who comes from a mixed Nigerian/Brazilian/Native American background. She was second place in the third cycle of the popular show which also featured notables like Toccara & Eva "The Diva" Pigford who won first place.

Yaya, who is a graduate of Brown University, is currently signed to Models 1 London and Ford Models. She has modeled for Target, Olay, CharmaineLouise, DJA Clothing Company, Venus Clothing, Isaac Mizrahi, Kohl's, Seven Magazine, Interview Magazine, Essence Magazine, Jewel Magazine, Marc Bouwer,

Seda, Garnier Fructis, Lincoln Townhouse, Radioshack, and Sephora, amongst others.

As an actress, Yaya has acted in three major motion pictures, Take the Lead, Honeydripper and The Shanghai Hotel. She also acted in a TV movie called Racing for Time and starred on the hit soap operaAll My Children.

Camara “Yaya” Da Costa is from Freeport, New York. She was a student at Brown University and can speak three other languages, namely Portuguese, Spanish and French. Yaya stands at 5 feet, 8 inches and weighs around 118 lbs. She likes to nibble on sweet plantains and reads Trace magazine in her spare time. Her favorite movie is the Sci-Fi film The Fifth Element with the very versatile actor Bruce Willis.

Her modeling career was off to a promising start when she became one of the 14 finalists for America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 3. Yaya worked her way through all twelve weeks of photo shoots and catty exchanges between the other models in the group, and came very close to winning the competition. Like the past two seasons, the final week’s challenge was a walk-off between the two remaining finalists, Yaya and Eva Pigford. Both girls did very well on the runway, with a few minor glitches. During the judging session, Yaya was criticized to have looked lifeless while walking, but it did not do much to downplay her performance. Nevertheless, the judges decided to go with Eva, making Yaya the 12th person to be eliminated.