Production for Lifetime's Whitney Houston biopic is in full swing and Entertainment Weekly recently offered up a first look at former America's Next Top Model contestant Yaya DaCosta as the late singer.
While DaCosta began shooting only recently, she has already re-created the iconic cover of the pop diva's 1987 Whitney album.
DaCosta says her modeling background helped during the shoot.
"I just looked at the picture and did the pose!," DaCosta said.
DaCosta has had recurring roles on shows including All My Children, Ugly Betty and House. Most notably, she appeared in Lee Daniels' The Butler.
Last month, Music Times reported Arlen Escarpeta had been cast as Bobby Brown and Yolonda Ross is set to portray Houston's friend Robyn Crawford.
Escarpeta is a 33-year-old Belizean actor who has appeared in Final Destination 5, Friday the 13th and Star Trek Into Darkness. Ross most recently appeared in Phil Spector and Treme.
As the press release notes, the film "chronicles the headline-making relationship between the iconic singer, actress, producer and model and singer-songwriter Bobby Brown-from the time they first met at the very height of their celebrity, to their courtship and tumultuous marriage. Throughout it all, difficulties followed the superstar couple while they dealt with the overwhelming rewards and consequences of the fame and fortune created by Whitney's meteoric rise that would soon overshadow them both."
The film is slated to air in 2015 and will be directed by actress Angela Bassett in her directorial debut.
"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."
Bassett and Houston starred together in the 1995 film Waiting To Exhale.
