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 throughout her tattoo career.
A resurfaced video of their encounter shows Von D tattooing Gaga next to a car as they discuss their respective careers. Von D also asked the musician about her family and whether or not they like her tattoos โ 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 then.
“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, 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 cool to see that.”
Miley Cyrus got her first tattoo from the famous artist in 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 on Twitter on November 5, 2013, and Von D posted about the experience on Instagram.
“Loved tattooing you last night, @mileycyrus! ๐ #miniportraittattooparty,” the artist wrote alongside a close-up tattoo shot.
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.
In 2014, speaking with iHeartRadio, Lovato reflected on her bird tattoo and said getting it was a “very impulsive” decision. She said one of her friends had previously worked with Von D 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 was a God thing. I worked the 12 steps and got that in Sober Living. It was 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 on Instagram on July 30, 2012. She wrote in the post’s caption: “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. “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. ๐ค๐๐”
Comedian Margaret Cho got one of her first back tattoos in 2007 when she appeared on “LA Ink” with Von D.
On her blog, 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 am so excited to have it done finally.”
“Kat is incredible, nice, 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 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 shared a photo of them after their April 2, 2012 session.
“Tattooing Ewan McGregor ruled, and so did he!” she wrote.
Von D also gave matching tattoos to Francis Bean Cobain and musician Lyn-Z Way that year.
Though Cobain has seemingly not commented on the wire-hanger tattoo on her ankle, Way has 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 tattooers in the entire world” and said he’s “so proud” to be “covered” in her work.
Her work on Star includes the Audrey Hepburn, Kurt Cobain, and Elvis Presley portraits across the chest. She also tattooed an ice cream cone, the word “delicious,” and a picture of his great-grandmother on his neck โ 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 impressed with his whole approach to his career because he’s 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 told me about the rough times he had been through 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 that resonates in Los Angeles.”
Eve’s most famous tattoos are the paw prints across her chest โ 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. “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.’ 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.
One of Harry Styles’ tattoos was reportedly inked by Von D.
As Insider’s Olivia Singh previously reported, Styles had the phrase “won’t stop ’till we surrender” tattooedย on his arm below the Green Bay Packers logo โ though it’s faded over time.
Clevver TV reported 2012 that Styles got the ink at Von D’s former High Voltage Tattoo studio in California, which he visited with Zayn Malik then.