Pendatchanska was born in Sofia, Bulgaria into a family of renowned Bulgarian musicians. Her grandfather Sasha Popov was a violinist and conductor and the founder of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. Her mother Valerie Popova was an internationally acclaimed soprano who sung regularly at La Scala in Milan from 1983 to 1986. She studied piano from early childhood and graduated from Bulgaria's National School of Music, where her subjects were piano and singing. Her vocal teacher was her mother, Valerie Popova.
