Yaya DaCosta (ex-Cassandra Foster, “All My Children”) is set to star in the Lifetime original TV movie, “Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story,” the network announced on Wednesday.
Premiering Saturday, April 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT, the ripped from the headlines movie is based on the memoir by Monique Smith, who endured a horrific childhood only to discover that her family wasn’t actually hers.
According to a logline, Monique Smith always felt out of place in her family from a young age. Living in constant fear of abuse from her mother and others, she dreamed of finding people who loved her and a place that truly felt like a home. Because of the abuse she suffered, she felt she could never embrace her family and especially wanted to know her origin story once she became a mother herself.
After realizing she didn’t have proper documentation, including a birth certificate or social security card, she goes on a decades-long search to discover who she really is. First, she questions her family members, then submits her DNA for biological matches and looks everywhere for an answer to her biggest questions: who she is and is there anyone out there looking for her?
Check out a photo of DaCosta from the film below.
Lynsey Weatherspoon/A+E Global Media
In addition to starring in the TV movie, DaCosta also executive produces the project and sees her real-life sister, Djassi DaCosta Johnson, also part of a cast that includes Robert Hamilton III, Solace Kimbro Jones, Kadeem Isaiah and Morgan-Rose Jordan.
Tailiah Breon directs from a script written by Sylvia Jones.
“Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story” is produced by Undaunted Content in association with GroupM Motion Entertainment. D’Angela Proctor serves as executive producer for Undaunted Content. Yaya DaCosta serves as executive producer. Richard Foster and Chet Fenster are executive producers for GroupM Motion Entertainment.
In addition to her stint on “All My Children,” DaCosta has also starred in such shows as “Chicago Med” and “The Lincoln Lawyer,” the latter of which was recently renewed for a fourth season at Netflix.