AceShowbiz -

How Yaya DaCosta will look like as Whitney Houston in Lifetime's biopic has been unveiled in a picture which makes its way out via Entertainment Weekly. The photo features the 31-year-old actress striking the same pose the late diva made on the cover of her 1987 album "Whitney".

DaCosta, who is a former "America's Next Top Model" contestant, sports a white tank top and big curly hair to resemble Houston's style in the album cover. "I just looked at the picture and did the pose!" she says of the first-look picture from the TV movie.

DaCosta is joined by Arlen Escarpeta and Yolonda Ross in the cast. The former will play Houston's ex-husband Bobby Brown and the latter is set to star as Robyn, Houston's lifelong friend and confidant.

The biopic, under the working title "Whitney Houston", is directed by Oscar-nominated actress Angela Bassett, with a script written by Shem Bitterman. Larry Sanitsky serves as executive producer.

The telepic "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."

It is expected to premiere in early 2015.