The Real Meaning Behind Kat Von D's Tattoos
This article contains references to addiction.
For a woman whose entire flesh pops like a storybook, the real meaning behind Kat Von D's tattoos is likewise reflective of a life full of stories. However, as anyone with a substantial collection of body art will tell you, not every tattoo has great meaning to it — sometimes a rose is just a rose. And other times, a tattoo has such immense meaning that you don't dare share it with anyone. Not even the person sticking the needle in.
In the case of Von D, fans have seen much of the star's often complicated and controversial life played out in front of cameras. Be it on "Miami Ink" or "LA Ink" — the reality shows which catapulted her colossal career — or on social media, where the star has always shared her life openly with fans, Von D has long been an open book. And the tattoos that tell some of her deepest, most intimate stories are right there for everyone to see.
Since making her name as one of the most famous tattooists in the world, Von D has continually transformed her business and her brand to include a best-selling makeup line, shoe collections, books, and even music. As her career has grown, so has she — and her ink has fluctuated and changed over the years, too.
Put on your finest goth garb and take a seat in the salon chair, because the needle is waiting: This is the real meaning behind Kat Von D's tattoos.
Kat Von D's family ink
Though she later gained infamy as the femme fatale of L.A.'s tattoo scene, Kat Von D started life with her family in Mexico. According to The Washington Post, "The Von Drachenbergs lived in poverty, with dirt floors and no electricity." They subsequently moved to the United States when Von D was 6, in hope of better opportunities. "They really felt like this was the land of promise," she told the newspaper about her Argentinian parents. The artist added, "But I think they were also scared of American culture."
Naturally, Von D's burgeoning love for body art as a young, rebellious teen was one of the aspects that was "really scary for" her parents, as she told PR.com. However, years later, they'd obviously come around to understanding and supporting their daughter's lifestyle and career choice. Which is just as well, considering Von D has paid tribute to them in her tattoos.
Though the star wrote in an Instagram post that "No tattoo could ever do her beauty justice," Von D has a stunning portrait of her mom on her left shoulder. Meanwhile, a portrait of her father's homecoming photo graces her right arm. Von D told Yahoo! that the idea and placement of the art piece were emotionally critical for her: "My dad has always been a hero of mine, and so once I started doing so much traveling, it was just nice to be able to look down on my arm and see my Pops with me."
Latina pride
On top of keeping her parental heroes close to her, Kat Von D also carries a proud chorus line of Mexican icons on her skin. The star boasts a holy trinity of Latina talent with portraits of María Victoria, Columba Domínguez, and Tongolele wrapping her calves. On Instagram, Von D once referred to these women as being her "inspiracion latina" — women who may have galvanized her to seek out the confidence and success she's undoubtedly achieved this far into her life and career.
Speaking to Food & Living Vegan, Von D copped to the fact that '40's Latina icon Carmen Miranda — whom the star has tattooed on her back — even inspired her subsequent Von D Shoes brand. "She was responsible for introducing the platform shoe to America," the artist told the publication. With a tattoo of Miranda, Von D "got inspired to start curating my wardrobe of platform shoes from that point on."
The multitalented beauty mogul draws power from these women, but she likely celebrates them for their shared heritage, too. In a 2017 Facebook post, at a time when "a wall between the U.S. and Mexico" was in discussion to be built, Von D wrote an impassioned plea regarding the importance of immigrants to U.S. culture: "I am Mexican. I am Argentinian. And I am American. We shouldn't forget we are a nation of immigrants." Certainly, her tattoos proudly celebrate this fact, too.
Scribbles from a former life
Look closely enough at some pictures of Kat Von D's tattoos, and you'll uncover a trail of scratchy and seemingly random words, phrases, names, and letters, which look almost out of place among the more professional work that covers her body. According to Body Art Guru, these tattoos include various curse words and shapes, as well as the acronym DILLIGAF ("does it look like I give a f***") for her right hand, a shakily scrawled "I love you" marking her right shoulder, and — perhaps most tellingly — the phrase "Vodka forever" on her left wrist.
As she confirmed during an interview with Flaunt, these scratchy numbers were "drunken tattoos" that she got during a time in her life when she "was a mess." In a bid to "preserve and protect" her art, Von D decided to get sober in 2007, and she has never looked back. Recalling opening up her shop, she said, "I promised myself back then that I wouldn't allow anything to get in the way of my progress, including destructive relationships and drama. ... More than just having the chemical addiction, I was addicted to dysfunction."
Many years later, the star would make the apparently controversial decision to cover up these tattoos in the most radical way imaginable.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Kat Von D paints it black
At the tail end of 2019, Kat Von D debuted a drastic new tattoo via an Instagram post: a blackout sleeve which encompassed the majority of her left arm. Apparently, some fans found the aesthetic choice a little too alternative for the very alternative icon to enjoy, and made it their business to tell her as much. As she told Flaunt, "people really lost their mind" when she debuted the bold new cover-up sleeve, but it was also an essential fix for the next phase of her life.
As she told it, many of the tattoos covered under her new raven veil were from a time when she was struggling in the grip of addiction. "Now I'm happily married and I'm a mother," she told the magazine. "I don't want to look at that every day." Since then, the "LA Ink" star has continued to get some impressive blackout work on other parts of her body.
In one Instagram post, Von D showed off the blackout work done to her left leg — which spans all the way around her ankle. In another, she shared the work done on her right arm, and how beautifully the portrait of her father now "stands out even more" for it. "Those tattoos meant nothing to me but landmarks in dark times," she wrote about the ink she'd covered up. "Now my arm looks so nice and clean."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Danger! Danger! High Voltage
One tattoo which, unfortunately, looks as though it may not have survived Kat Von D's tattoo equivalent of the Thanos finger click is the High Voltage tattoo previously located just below her left knee. Though small, the tattoo was nonetheless a sweet celebratory landmark dedicated to the star's very own first tattoo parlor, which she opened in Los Angeles in 2007 (via People).
According to The Guardian, Von D opened her business after leaving the TLC reality show "Miami Ink." Given the opportunity to helm her own show in a new city for"LA Ink," the star made her way back to Los Angeles to set up shop with a team made almost exclusively of female talent. "I picked the best girl tattooists," she told the publication. Von D explained, "I think females have to work 110% in order to prove themselves sometimes."
It makes sense that Von D would choose to commemorate her first business with an homage to her craft. It also, sadly, makes perfect sense why she'd potentially choose to blackout the High Voltage tattoo in later years. At the tail end of 2021, the former reality star announced on Instagram that she'd be closing her beloved Hollywood parlor after 14 years of successful business, due to her relocating to Indiana with her husband, Rafael Reyes.
"I didn't think it would make sense to keep it open if I wasn't present," she wrote, and added the sad aside, "we don't plan on returning to LA very often."
California dreamin' for Kat Von D
Though Kat Von D eventually left Los Angeles, the star made a great name for herself in the iconic city, and loved the place so much that she got two tattoos to celebrate her former homestead. Von D has the city's name written across her left shoulder, and has "Hollywood" inked on her abdomen in the style of the New York Doll's classic logo. Clearly, she owes a lot to the city of stars.
Speaking to Flaunt, Von D acknowledged that L.A. was a huge cultural, creative influence for her. On top of many of her "tattooing aesthetics and styles" being directly inspired "from the cultures of subcultures of Southern California," the star also expressed how having "so many people from all over the world" in the city helped inspire her creatively, too. "There's a diversity that really plays into everything you do," she explained.
Swapping out her beloved Los Angeles for Indiana was clearly a bittersweet move for the artist, who appeared to crave a quieter life following the birth of her first child, Leafar, in 2018 (via People). According to The Washington Post, Von D and her husband Rafael Reyes moved to the small town of Vevay and into an "Italianate mansion" wherein they "enjoy the solitude" of their new surroundings. At the very least, the place is said to be haunted, should the couple's newfound solitude ever get to be too much. And hey, maybe an Indiana tattoo is next for the tattoist-turned-musician?
A portable pucker-up
Though Kat Von D's tattoo collection is full of sweet artifacts of loved ones, her prized piece may well be the set of lips on her neck. The kisser in question belongs to her husband, and father of her child, Rafael Reyes — and the process of creating the romantic piece was quite something.
On Instagram, the "Love Made Me Do It" artist shared an image of her husband's kiss-print on paper alongside one of her Studded Kiss black lipsticks — respect to her product placement game. A little later she shared a second photo on Instagram of the Prayers frontman's black painted lips, where the star was swooning hard for her beau's "most perfect lip shape." Just two days later, and the smooch was sealed for life on Von D's neck. On Twitter, the star shared a picture of her new ink and mused that she's "forever kissed by my love," now that Reyes' lips are eternally planted on her.
The adorable super-goth couple got married in 2018. Though they tied the knot privately in February, they later celebrated their nuptials with loved ones via a suitably macabre ceremony. According to Brides, Von D and Reyes' ceremony had an "'en vida y en muerte' theme (which translates to 'in life and death')." There, Von D apparently decided to vibe off a bridal Lydia Deetz by wearing a red gown paired with a matching veil and — the ultimate bridal accessory! — horns.
Relics of an ex
Suffice it to say, the artist has something of a penchant for inking a trail of her love life all over herself. Once upon a time, "Ink Master" tooth-pick enthusiast Oliver Peck and Kat Von D were the Beyoncé and Jay Z of the tattoo industry. And for a while, she had the tatts to prove it. The "Miami Ink" power couple were married from 2003 until 2007, and by all accounts, it didn't seem to end well.
Speaking to In Touch, Peck allegedly accused his famous ex of being "the most self-centered person" he'd ever been with, and made claims that Von D "was having an affair" in the years preceding their divorce and her sobriety (via HuffPost). Unfortunately for her, she was left with a bunch of tattoos dedicated to him. Speaking to PR.com, Von D confessed to the fact that she had Peck's "name tattooed on me all over the place" — remnants of which could previously be seen on her fingers, and on the right side of her neck.
Though she argued that she wasn't necessarily bothered by this fact, she revealed that there was one prominent tattoo of her ex that she did remove: a portrait of Peck on the top of her left thigh, which she told the website she was "in the process of lasering" in 2008. By 2021, that bad boy was most definitely blacked out — and good riddance to it, for her sake.
A memory of Kat Von D's first tattoo
Interestingly, Kat Von D's love for romantic tattoos has something of an origin story — and his name was James. In an Instagram post shared in 2014, Von D offered a little background on where the tiny "J" tattoo on her ankle came from and the significance of it. Recounting a story of her "first and probably only true Love," Von D described how she traveled across the country on a greyhound bus with the boy when she was 14 and subsequently enjoyed a "wild three years" with him.
"I started tattooing and (getting tattooed) at that time," she wrote, noting that this "J" was her very first tattoo, in dedication to her first beau. "I still have it and still love it, even though it physically lasted longer than the relationship," she surmised. Having once joked to PR.com that people would say to her, "you never learn. You just keep getting boys' names tattooed on you," it's interesting to note that she genuinely never did.
On top of tattoos dedicated to exes like Oliver Peck and Alex Orbison, Von D also had a childhood portrait of her alleged cheating ex Jesse James tattooed on the left side of her torso, "just weeks before their first split in July 2011," according to Yahoo! Entertainment. In 2012, she then proudly shared that she was having the tattoo removed in an Instagram post tagged #freshstart. Good for her!
Mementos of Him
Another set of tattoos rumored to have a romantic backstory to them are the heartagrams Kat Von D has near the knuckles of both her middle fingers. The symbol is the logo for Finnish goth rock band Him — "Jackass" fans will know it from Bam Margera's own inked flesh — and fans have speculated that charismatic lead singer Ville Valo had a relationship with Von D in the late 2010s (via Reddit).
Speaking to Flaunt, Von D teased the idea that she "was in love with somebody who lived across the ocean" around this time, and that she wrote the songs of her 2021 debut album "Love Made Me Do It" about the romance. However, when talking about the same relationship to Billboard, she indicated it was very much "an unrequited love" on his behalf.
The star told the publication that she wrote the album in response to one he'd written about her. "He had the album delivered to my door with a note on it saying, 'These are all the things that are easier sung than said.'" She subsequently decided to sing back to him. But was it Valo? Von D won't name names; however, the two were friends, and she even shared a Facebook post in 2009 of a Charles Bukowski tattoo she had done for the Finnish rocker. As Bukowski himself would put it, Love is a dog from hell – and there's a chance these two found that out personally.
The constellation of stars at her temple
Kat Von D's most prominent and iconic tattoo has to be the collection of stars that rain down from her temple and over the cuff of her cheekbone. Over the years, the meaning of the tattoo has taken on an odd mythology for the star. Starcasm claims that she "went out and got seven more stars" inked "to spite" ex-husband Oliver Peck, who "used to tell her she shouldn't tattoo her face." Meanwhile, the Mirror has suggested that the stars are in reference to the Mötley Crüe song "Starry Eyes."
It's probably best to take both ideas with a pinch of salt. However, it's interesting to note that Von D dated Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx for a time, following her divorce from Peck. Judging from Von D's final episodes of "Miami Ink" — screened at the beginning of 2007 — the star might have gotten her stars tattooed just prior to her romance with the rock legend.
Though she hasn't said much directly about the meaning of her temple stars, in an interview with Billboard, she suggested that they were indicative of a promise to her profession. Calling face tattoos "a huge commitment" which "separates you from most of normal society," the star explained that they also deliver a clear message: "To me it reads as a dedication to a lifestyle," she said. It certainly does.
Kat Von D is Beethoven's biggest fangirl
All ex-boyfriend tattoos and possible romantic statement ink aside, there's one man who takes up a lot of tattoo real estate on Kat Von D's body: Ludwig Van Beethoven. As noted by Body Art Guru, the star has several tattoos dedicated to the radical classical composer, including his initials on her right index finger, and two portraits of him on her right thigh.
In an interview with PR.com, the star reasoned that her great love for the composer stemmed from him being "a hopeless romantic, but socially inept and just kind of punk rock ... [he] didn't give a f***." Maybe Von D found herself in Bill & Ted's most excellent phone booth in the early '00s and went to a Butthole Surfers show with the guy? Who knows! One thing is certain, he helped to shape her as an artist.
Speaking to Flaunt, the dark synthwave artist explained how she started playing classical music on piano at 5 years old and that Beethoven remained at the core of her debut album. "I love the romantic era of music. When I started even writing my own album, it felt like the next right outlet for me..." She expanded on how Beethoven's sound nurtured her own to The Big Issue, sharing "that it's very melancholy and dramatic. There's anger, there's emotion." Wyld Stallyns would most excellently approve.