Yaya DaCosta Cast As Whitney Houston in Lifetime Biopic

Photo: Yaya DaCosta (Rommel Demano/Getty); Whitney Houston photographed by David LaChapelle for Out.

It's official: Rising star Yaya DaCosta will play singer Whitney Houston in a Lifetime biopic to be directed by none other than... Angela Bassett. Beauty overload!

DaCosta made her Hollywood debut in the Oscar-nominated The Kids Are Alright, and last year, she shone as a civil rights activist in Lee Daniels' The Butler. The New York-born actress was also a runner-up in Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model (remember?).

Seems like an excellent casting choice, if you ask us.

The project, tentatively entitled I Will Always Love You: The Whitney Houston Story, will mark Angela Bassett's directorial debut. Bassett was a close friend of Houston's, and shared the top billing with her in the 1995 drama Waiting To Exhale:

"I have such regard for both Whitney's and Bobby's amazing talents and accomplishments; and I feel a responsibility in the telling of their story," Bassett said in a statement. "Their humanity and bond fascinates us all. I'm beyond excited to have this opportunity to go behind the camera and into their world."

The biopic is slated for a 2015 release on Lifetime, and will focus on Houston's early success in the music industry, and her tumultuous relationship with Bobby Brown.

Read our interview with Whitney Houston, published in the May 2000 issue of Out.