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"They said yes to Yaya! Former America&amp;apos;s Next Top Model contestant Yaya DaCosta has been cast to play the late Whitney Houston in Lifetime&amp;apos;s upcoming biopic, according to TVLine.\r\n\r\nThough she impressed judges as the season three runner-up  of Tyra Banks&amp;apos; modeling reality series, DaCosta will show off her acting chops as the lead in the made-for-TV film, I Will Always Love You: The Whitney Houston Story. The 31-year-old actress&amp;apos; IMDB profile was updated to reflect the casting announcement.  As producers shared in a press release last month, Houston&amp;apos;s Waiting to Exhale costar Angela Bassett will direct the movie.\r\n\r\nPost-ANTM, DaCosta has built up a rep as a working actor. She had a recurring role on daytime soap All My Children in 2008 and a seven-episode arc as Nicol Slater in Ugly Betty the following year. DaCosta&amp;apos;s film credits include roles in movies like Lee Daniels&amp;apos; The Butler, In Time, and Tron: Legacy.\r\n\r\nHer upcoming role will be a challenging one, as the plot line chronicles Houston&amp;apos;s love story with R&amp;amp;B bad boy Bobby Brown -- and the eventual, very messy disintegration of their marriage. According to a press release, the Lifetime movie will depict Houston and Bobby Brown&amp;apos;s life, &amp;quot;from the time they first met at the very height of their  celebrity, to their courtship and tumultuous marriage.&amp;quot; (The actor who will take Brown&amp;apos;s role has yet to be announced.)\r\n\r\nBassett, 55, said the project is one that she will put great effort into. &amp;quot;I have such regard for both Whitney&amp;apos;s and Bobby&amp;apos;s amazing talents and accomplishments,&amp;quot; she said in the release, &amp;quot;and I feel a responsibility in the telling of their story.&amp;quot;\r\nI Will Always Love You: The Whitney Houston Story will be released sometime in 2015."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/yaya-dacosta-to-play-whitney-houston-in-biopic-antm-model-details-201496>