Of Ukrainian and African-American descent, Kaya Kimberley Coleman Prokopchuk considers herself an Artistic Alchemist. Always looking for ways to express herself and make art, Kaya is an actor, model, photographer, writer and founder of the Candace Prokopchuk Single Parent Relief Fund. She was recently appointed Chair of the DEIB committee for ACTRA Alberta and looks forward to addressing systemic barriers in the Film & TV Industry. 

 

Kaya grew up in Calgary and spent most of her adolescence competing in sports. After earning a BSc in Medical Molecular Biochemistry, she went on to complete the Rogues West Ensemble Acting program.

 

She has since been celebrated for leading Prime Video’s YA series Beyond Black Beauty - a multi-generational story that follows a young equestrian, named Jolie, who bonds with a spirited black horse after a shocking move from Belgium to Baltimore. Kaya was praised for the depth she brought to Jolie and learned how to ride English and Western styles for the show.

 

Beyond Black Beauty was nominated at the 2025 GLAAD Awards and won 4 Canadian Screen Awards in June 2025. 

 

Other acting credits include: starring alongside Jon Voight in Paramount Pictures’s Dangerous Game: The Legacy Murders, Ashley Newbrough in Dickens of a Christmas and Kat McNamara in CW’s Montana Mavericks. Kaya also had a fun cameo in Rob Grant’s This Too Shall Pass, which won the Audience Choice Award at CUFF, and learned how to play the bass guitar as a lead of Witches X, directed by grammy-award-winning songwriter Lowell. Kaya was awarded Best Lead Performance for Montana Mavericks at the ACTRA Alberta Awards (2025).

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Kaya most recently recurred as a guest star in Prime Video’s The Greatest, a TV series that explores Muhammad Ali’s personal relationships as father, husband, brother and son.