Born October 14, 1970, and raised in the Czech Republic, Daniela Pestova grew up in the midst of political bedlam. Lucky she came from an upper class family and by the time she was 19 years old, she ended up getting discovered by the Madison Modeling Agency's Dominique Caffin in Prague.

Although she had originally planned to attend college and get her degree in Education, after being spotted going into a theater, Daniela Pestova was asked to enter a modeling contest....

She has appeared on the covers of GQ, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and ELLE. She has been modelling for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue for many years and has appeared on the cover three times, in 1995, 2000 and 2006. In addition to working with world class photographers on her Sports Illustrated shoots, she was the object/subject of Joanne Gair's inaugural body painting works as part of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She has also modelled for L'Oréal and Victoria's Secret. Peštová married Tomasso Buti (former CEO of Fashion Café) in 1995, but they were divorced in 1998. The couple had a son together, Yannick Fausto (b. 1996).

Daniela Pestova has a daughter, Ella (b. July 21, 2002), with her present partner, Slovak singer Pavol Habera. She has been dubbed "The Chameleon" for continuously changing her look.[citation needed] She speaks Russian, French and Italian fluently, as well as her native Czech.