13 celebrities who have been tattooed by Kat Von D
Amanda Krause
- Throughout her long tattoo career, Kat Von D has created art for numerous celebrities.
- She tattooed arrows on Miley Cyrus, and a series of roses on Lady Gaga.
Before she became a music legend, Lady Gaga was tattooed by Kat Von D.
Von D tattooed Gaga around 2008, as the Daily Mail previously reported.
A resurfaced video of their encounter shows Von D tattooing Gaga next to a car as they chat about their respective careers. Von D also asked the musician about her family, and whether or not they like her tattoos — Gaga said they do.
Von D worked on Lady Gaga's floral back tattoo and a treble clef piece that sits to the side of it. Speaking with Billboard in 2010, the tattoo artist said she "had no idea" who Gaga was at the time.
"She wanted to get these roses on her hip. She came in and was this little firecracker," Von D said. "And I said, 'What are you all about, your music and stuff?' And she goes, 'I'm here to make it huge. I'm going to make it big.'"
"She'd just moved to LA and I was like, 'Yeah, yeah, you and everyone else.' I didn't say that, but cool, whatever happens," Von D continued. "I swear, like three days later her face was everywhere. But man, she did it. It was really cool to see that."
Miley Cyrus got her first tattoo from the famous artist at the start of 2013.
In a tweet on January 31, 2013, Cyrus shared a photo of her then-fresh ink: two arrows crossed over her right elbow in an X shape.
A few months later, Von D created a portrait of Cyrus' grandmother on her forearm.
Cyrus shared a photo of their tattoo session via Twitter on November 5, 2013, and Von D posted an Instagram post about the experience.
"Love, love, loved tattooing you last night, @mileycyrus! #miniportraittattooparty," the artist wrote alongside a close-up shot of the tattoo.
In 2012, Von D inked Demi Lovato's arm with a flock of birds.
After getting the tattoo on November 26, 2012, Lovato thanked Von D on Twitter with a photo of them together.
"I think it's beautiful and I love it," the musician added about the tattoo. They later shared a close-up shot of Von D's work.
Speaking with iHeartRadio in 2014, Lovato reflected on their bird tattoo and said getting it was a "very impulsive" decision. They said one of their friends had worked with Von D in the past, and unexpectedly connected them with the tattoo artist.
"I love the freedom that birds represent and I didn't specifically have a huge reason why I got 12 of them," Lovato added. "But it's like, it was kind of like a God thing, like I worked the 12 steps, so as I got that while I was in Sober Living, apparently it was really meant to be."
Similarly, Von D created two giant feathers on Dave Grohl's forearms a few months earlier.
Von D shared a photo of the tattoos to Instagram on July 30, 2012. In the post's caption, she wrote: "Black feather tattoos on Dave Grohl. (absolutely loved doing these tattoos)."
In 2015, the tattoo artist added a movie-inspired design to the skin of YouTuber NikkieTutorials.
The all-black tattoo features a film camera in front of a geometric shape.
"New ink by my amazing friend @thekatvond," the YouTuber wrote in an Instagram post at the time. "Never met such a genuine soul like you. You took my idea to the next level and created something I will proudly wear for the rest of my life. "
Comedian Margaret Cho got one of her first back tattoos in 2007 when she appeared on "LA Ink" with Von D.
On her blog at the time, Cho wrote: "I just got an amazing tattoo from Kat Von D on her show 'LA Ink.' I have been a fan for a long time and I am so excited to finally have it done."
"Kat is incredible and totally nice and funny and fun," she added, alongside photos of their tattoo session. "We had an awesome time and it didn't even hurt because Kat is so pretty nothing she does could possibly hurt anyone!"
Actor Ewan McGregor posed with Von D for a photo after she tattooed him in 2012.
While it's unclear what Von D tattooed on the actor, she did share a photo of them after their session on April 2, 2012.
"Tattooing Ewan McGregor ruled and so did he!" she wrote at the time.
Von D also gave matching tattoos to Francis Bean Cobain and musician Lyn-Z Way that year.
Though Cobain seemingly hasn't commented on the wire-hanger tattoo that sits on her ankle, Way previously tweeted about the ink.
"No More Wire Hangers!!!! Thank you @thekatvond. friendship tattoos with @alka_seltzer666," Way wrote, tagging Cobain's old Twitter account.
Jeffree Star has numerous tattoos from his former best friend.
In a YouTube video about his tattoos posted on October 26, 2016, Star said that, despite their ongoing feud, he would "never disrespect Kat's art." He also called her "one of the best portrait tattoers in the entire world," and said he's "so proud" to be "covered" in her work.
Some of the work she's done on Star include the Audrey Hepburn, Kurt Cobain, and Elvis Presley portraits across his chest. She also tattooed an ice-cream cone, the word "delicious," and a portrait of his great grandmother on his neck — in addition to many others.
The artist tattooed Soulja Boy's real name across his hands.
Their tattoo session, during which Von D added the musician's last name, Way, to his hand, was featured in a 2010 episode of "LA Ink."
"He came in and I was really impressed with his whole approach to his career because he's really young," Von D told Billboard.
"To have this body of work this young, you must have gotten it at a very young age," she added about his tattoos. "We tattooed his hand and he was kind of telling me about the rough times he had been through in his life and how he's very family-oriented now. I'm a big fan of the urban style of tattoos, because they're very 'gangsta,' and to me that's something that really resonates in Los Angeles."
Eve's most famous tattoos are the paw prints across her chest - but Von D worked on different ones for the rapper.
As the tattoo artist told Billboard, she tattooed a series of Chinese characters, also known as a kanji tattoo, on Eve's arm.
"Eve is awesome," Von D told the publication. "Actually I tattooed her a couple of times. I told her, 'Man, because of you, every tattoo shop has had to do those paw prints a million times over.' It's a very influential tattoo. A lot of girls started getting that when she got that."
Actress Eliza Dushku also has a tattoo from Von D.
As the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" star told Maxim in 2009, according to Fox News, Von D created "a beautiful symbolic feather" on her ribs.
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