Niki Daly was born in Cape Town, where he studied Art and Design.
He first came to England in 1970 under contract to CBS to write and record songs, after which he worked as a graphic designer, illustrator and design teacher. In 1978 his first picture book, THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVED DOWN THE ROAD, won him a British Arts Council Illustration Award.

Since then, Niki Daly has written and illustrated many award winning picture books, including WHY THE SUN AND THE MOON LIVE IN THE SKY, which was a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year. The first book in his delightful JAMELA series, JAMELA'S DRESS was an ALA Notable Children's Book and gained a number of awards internationally. He was nominated for the Hans Andersen Award in 2002 and 2004.

Daly's work ranges from cartoon to realism, young picture books to early readers, and is noted for its fun and subtle observation. He returned to South Africa in 1980 and now lives in Mowbray, Cape Town with his wife, the illustrator Jude Daly, and their two sons.