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Mi hija lleva tres años haciendo esquí.

Mi hija lleva tres años haciendo esquí.
My daughter has been skiing for three years.
From Lesson 213:Football and other sports (marcar un gol, el futbolista)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Mi hija lleva tres años haciendo esquí.

Why does the sentence use lleva instead of a literal translation for 'has been'?
The structure llevar + [time period] + [gerund (-ando or -iendo)] is the standard way in Spanish to express how long someone has been doing an ongoing action. While you could literally translate it as ha estado haciendo, using llevar is much more natural and common.
Why is lleva in the present tense if she started three years ago?
Because she is still doing it! Spanish uses the present tense for llevar here because the action continues into the present. She currently 'carries' three years of skiing experience.
Could I use the verb esquiar instead of haciendo esquí?
Yes, absolutely. You could say Mi hija lleva tres años esquiando. Using hacer + [sport noun] is just another very common way to talk about practicing a sport in Spanish.
Why is there no word for 'for' before tres años?
In English, we say 'for three years,' but the Spanish structure llevar + [time] + [gerund] never uses a preposition like por or durante before the time period. The verb llevar already implies the accumulation of time.

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