Sarah McDaniel

Sarah Rose McDaniel is an American model and writer born in Roseville, California. She is known for her appearances in various media projects, including high-profile magazine covers and music videos.

McDaniel gained significant public attention when she was selected as the cover girl for Playboy magazine's first non-nude issue in March 2016. Following her magazine appearance, she was featured as a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. During her appearance on the show, she experienced a minor wardrobe failure, which led Colbert to place a paper towel over her chest to ease the situation. McDaniel later described the event in an interview with HasanAbi as one of the worst moments of her life. As of 2025, a YouTube clip of this talk show appearance has accumulated over 49 million views, making it one of the most-watched videos on The Late Show's channel.

In addition to print modeling and television appearances, McDaniel has starred in music videos and acting projects. She appeared in the music video for Mark Ronson and Kevin Parker's songs "Summer Breaking" and "Daffodils," as well as the music video for G-Eazy's single "Some Kind of Drug" featuring Marc E. Bassy. She expanded into acting by making her screen debut in the series SuperHigh, directed by Edouard Pluvieux, where she starred alongside Kev Adams and DeStorm.

Beyond her entertainment and modeling career, McDaniel has worked as a journalist. She has written science-based entries for outlets such as Filthy and the Huffington Post. Her published blogs covered topic areas including black holes, emotion-changing parasites, and zombie fungus.

McDaniel is also known for public discussion surrounding her eyes. She states that she has heterochromia iridum, which appeared a few weeks after her birth, leaving her with a brown right eye and a blue left eye. While she noted that past agents and modeling agencies encouraged her to wear colored contacts to focus on clothing designs, she credits social media with helping her embrace her look.

Her heterochromia has also been a topic of public dispute. Statements from her father alleged that her condition is fake, pointing to online photographs that appeared to show the color of her blue eye shifting between different shades and patterns. McDaniel has strongly denied these allegations, stating she does have heterochromia and expressing that she was devastated by the claims and the resulting online criticism.