A talented tattoo artist most famous for her role on TLC series Miami Ink and LA Ink, there is much more to Kat Von D than just a TV show. 

In our current world of reality TV, social media influencers and viral videos fame is within reach of everyone, from video game bloggers to tattoo artists. One of the most famous and successful of these is Kat Von D, who went from inking cool body art in a tattoo shop to superstardom and celebrity.

 

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Kat Von D‘s career outside tattooing includes fame as a television personality, authoring several books, singing on a number of rock and roll tracks and launching a successful –and controversial—makeup line. A savvy entrepreneur and skilled tattoo artist, Kat Von D continues to blaze a trail for powerful and unapologetic women in the industry. 

An Early Start 

Born in Mexico but moving to Los Angeles with her family at four years old, Kat began came to ink at an early age, getting her first tattoo at age 14 and quitting school two years later to pursue her career as a tattoo artist. Cutting her teeth tattooing in LA and Hollywood, Von D was influenced by her Latino heritage and punk rock, finding connections in these cultural movements with deep roots in Southern California.

The nation got their first real look at Kat as a reality star on the TLC series Miami Ink when Von D joined the crew, filling in for another injured artist. After two seasons Kat left Miami due to creative differences and returned to her home of Los Angeles where she eventually landed her own tattoo show, La Ink.

In 2007 Kat set the Guinness World Record for the most tattoo applied in 24 hours—400—cementing her place in the world of tattoo fame. She also features on numerous covers of tattoo industry bible Inked Magazine.