Born on October 14, 1970 in the Czech Republic, Daniela Pestova
has already made her mark in the modeling world. Appearing in
GUESS? ads in 1990 with Claudia Schiffer, Daniela was
transformed into a super star practically over night - just
one year after leaving her communist homeland. Shot by
Ellen Von Unwerth in Morocco, Daniela and Claudia were pictured
in some of the most memorable images of GUESS? advertising
history. At 5'11" with blonde hair and blue eyes, she looks
like the all-American girl. Her looks were admired by Paul Marciano,
president and creative director of GUESS?, Inc. who has a
reputation for picking out the yet undiscovered faces that will
become the supermodels of today.
Born and raised behind the Iron Curtain during a time of political
chaos, dreams were not expected to come true for Daniela. However,
she was in the right place at the right time when she was
discovered in Prague by Dominique Caffin of the Madison modeling
agency at age 19. She had planned to attend college for a degree in
Education when she was spotted going into a theater. He asked her
to enter a modeling contest, which she won, and flew her to Paris
to sign with his agency.
In 1992, without speaking a word of English (but fluent in Italian,
Russian, French and Czech), she moved to New York. Her career
skyrocketed as she appeared on the covers of major fashion
magazines - including Cosmopolitan, Elle, Marie Claire and Glamour.
In 1994, she landed a huge contract with L'Oreal to become a
spokesperson and print model and also began a long-running
relationship with Victoria's Secret.
Personally, Daniela has had many great accomplishments, but her two
greatest were marrying Tomasso Buti, the CEO of the Fashion Cafe,
and giving birth to their son in 1996. Professionally, she is most
proud of nabbing the cover of Sports Illustrated's 1995 swimsuit
issue. She admits she needs to watch her weight by not eating sweets
like cookies or chocolate and by staying away from bread - her
weakness. When her modeling career is over, she says she would like
to become a translator or perhaps just spend her days having more
children and running on the beach with her dogs. For now, however,
she's happy with modeling, especially for her own swimsuit calendar.
