Is One Chicago Star Yaya DaCosta Exiting 'Chicago Med 'After Six Seasons?

Actress Yaya DaCosta has been acting since she was 11 years old. Throughout her career, she’s been in a handful of movies such as TRON: Legacy, The Butler, and even portrayed award-winning singer Whitney Houston in the Lifetime biopic Whitney. Yaya was also the first runner-up on Season 3 of Tyra Bank’s modeling competition show America’s Next Top Model.  

She's also had small parts in the soap opera All My Children and Ugly Betty but is best known for playing nurse April Sexton on NBC's hit medical drama Chicago Med. April was introduced as Chicago Fire's Kelly Severide's (Taylor Kinney) best friend from high school. Yaya was one of the first cast members on the series that follows the professional and private lives of the emergency doctors and nurses of the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center.

She has also made appearances in both Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. Fans have been wondering if any Chicago One actors were leaving their respective shows this season, and we are sad to say that Yaya is leaving Chicago Med after six seasons. 

It appears that Yaya is leaving Chicago Med because she landed a new role. Yaya is set to star in Lee Daniels' Our Kind of People, which received a straight-to-series order at FOX earlier this year. Lee Daniels will serve as the show’s executive producer, and Karin Gist, who has written for shows such as mixed-ish and Star, is the writer and executive producer. Lee took to social media when the show was greenlit by the network. 

He tweeted, "This Black woman in Oak Bluffs has a secret that’s going to set Martha’s Vineyard on fire. She’s #OurKindOfPeople." The drama series is inspired by Lawrence Otis Graham’s book Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class. The show will take place in the materialistic world of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, a historical summer haven that the Black elite has flocked to for more than a century.

Our Kind of People will center around single mom Angela Vaughn played by Yaya. Angela sets out to reclaim her family’s name and make an impact with her ground-breaking hair care lines that highlight the distinctive and natural beauty of Black women. Unfortunately, she soon uncovers a secret about her mother’s past that will turn her world completely upside down and totally shake up this community forever. 

In a press release about the new series, Michael Thorn, the president of entertainment for FOX, states, "Our Kind of People is a soapy, thrilling exploration of race and class in America and an unapologetic celebration of Black resilience and achievement — all daringly told by a team we’ve been eager to get back in business with. There are no better storytellers than Karin Gist and Lee Daniels to bring Lawrence Otis Graham’s seminal work to life.”

We’re excited about the series and can’t wait for it to premiere on FOX. The show will reunite Yaya with Lee Daniels after co-starring in The Butler back in 2013. This will also mark Lee’s return to FOX’s primetime with his third series. Empire was a hit on the network, and Star was well-received, which Karin also worked on.

In the meantime, you can still catch Yaya on Chicago Med before Season 6 ends.

Chicago Med airs every Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.