You probably know Kat Von D as a tattoo artist, makeup guru,
reality TV star, and singer. But if you want to know more about Kat Von D's life and career,
stick around. These are a few details even the biggest fans may not know about Kat Von D.
Kat Von D is one of the most prominent Latina stars around.
However, many of her fans don't seem to realize the full extent of her Latin roots.
The star explained to Dazed,
"I was born in a little pueblo in Mexico and didn't migrate to the U.S. until the mid-80s."
She went on to explain that she was raised by parents from Argentina,
and that her family had a tendency to speak Spanish at home.
She said,
"A lot of people don't know that I am a Latina and
it's something that I'm super proud of and shows in my art background.”
Kat Von D is still incredibly proud of her heritage and her mother tongue. In fact,
in 2017, she captioned an Instagram photo with a Spanish phrase meaning
"may you sleep with the little angels." But some fans criticized her Spanish, claiming the phrase,
when translated into English, would be, quote, "May you dream of the little angels."
She retorted to the haters, writing once again in Spanish,
"Spanish was my first language. I don't need Google to wish you a good night."
Kat Von D doesn't mind expressing her opinions. In an interview with Rebellious Magazine,
she explained that she has a pet peeve when it comes to live music gigs.
She said,
"One of my bigger pet peeves when I go and
see a band play is if somebody is just standing stagnant at a mic."
For Kat Von D, a great musical performance is all about "storytelling," and that involves
lots of movement. So, when it came time for her to create her tour for her 2021 album,
she was keen to include lots of visual elements.
She said,
"We've been working during this whole entire lockdown on the visuals and set design for our
live performances because I think going out and touring is going to be an amazing experience.”
In 2018, the tattoo artist became the center of a social media controversy when she claimed she
wouldn't vaccinate her children, and in 2019, Kat Von D was accused of being anti-Semitic.
Von D spoke to The Washington Post about some of the controversies on social media.
According to her, the rumors are false.
She said,
"There's been so many terrible rumors that
have been brought up about me that are completely untrue."
As she explained, she has often been misunderstood or had her views distorted in the media.
"I just don't have time or I choose not to invest time into a lot of those outside voices."
While Von D usually tries not to let these untrue rumors get to her,
she explained that she sometimes feels upset by claims that she is racist.
She said,
"None of that stuff really bothers me more than the racist stuff,
because I feel like, you know, I'm a proud Latina.
While Kat Von D is widely known as a tattoo artist,
she is also famous for her striking makeup looks. In fact, she's often considered to
be one of her generation's greatest innovators when it comes to makeup. As she once explained
to Get the Gloss, her beauty looks aren't exactly inspired by one individual person.
She said,
"I'm more inspired by things — eras, nature, people's style and aesthetic.”
However, she did mention one name — Edith Piaf,
the famous French singer responsible for songs like "La Vie En Rose." Von D told "Vogue Paris,"
"I like her beauty even if it isn't too conventional, so I can easily identify
with her. In fact, I think my icon could be a half-Edith Piaf, half-vampire creature."
There's always something retro about Kat Von D's aesthetic. She usually gives some serious
old-fashioned, sometimes Victorian vibes, too. As she explained to Vegan Food & Living,
she is, in fact, obsessed with antiques — especially books.
She explained that, as a vegan, old leather books are the only animal
product she feels comfortable buying. She once revealed on Instagram that she also
collected old Victorian lampshade frames to make custom retro-inspired lampshades.
It turns out, Von D has so many antiques in her collection,
she hosted an estate sale in 2021 to get rid of some of them!
Some of her antiques included an old dressing table, marble top tables,
and canopy beds. Clearly Von D's collection is filled with plenty of vintage treasures.
While Kat Von D is now one of the world's most famous and top paid tattoo artists,
she didn't always lead such a luxurious lifestyle.
She told Get the Gloss,
"We were quite poor. I didn't have financial access to luxury brands,
which I think was a blessing in many ways as it forced my sister and I to
take existing products and be as innovative as possible with them."
So, even though Von D didn't get to experiment with lots of makeup as a child,
she learned to create amazing looks with what she had.
No wonder Von D went on to create a makeup line when she grew up—he had
been experimenting with makeup for her whole life!
Kat Von D began her career as a tattoo artist — but she always
made a statement with her personal makeup looks. So,
it was no great shock when she branched out into makeup and launched her own line.
As she explained to Get the Gloss, the transition from tattooing to making
makeup was actually a lot smoother than many might assume. In fact,
being a tattoo artist actually helped her learn about what kind of makeup she wanted to create.
She said,
"My art background influences the creative process and my approach to technique,
as I'm not a professional. I understand contouring
from knowing how to draw portraits and my understanding of facial structure."
She even created an eyeliner called Tattoo Liner that aimed to recreate
the detailed lines of a fine needle in tattooing.
For Von D, tattooing and makeup are both art forms—no wonder she's so good at both!
If you've seen Kat Von D at work on a tattoo, it's easy to think she's been doing them for her whole
life — and that's not far from the truth. As the artist explained to Dazed, she began tattooing at
the young age of 14. She then inked her first tattoo in a professional shop when she was 16.
As she recalled,
"It was honestly love at first sight."
According to Glamour, Von D's first tattoo was for a friend. It was a skull that she
made out of a homemade tattoo machine that she'd constructed out of nothing
but a motor from a tape player and a guitar string. Apparently, Von D wasn't
just a naturally talented tattoo artist — she was also a genius when it came to DIY!
In 2021, Kat Von D released her debut album, adding to her long list of achievements. As the
star explained to Rebellious Magazine, the album was a long time coming.
She said,
"I'm excited because I wrote this album about 10 years ago and I just kept putting it on
the back burner because we were filming the TV show and doing book tours and all that stuff."
Apparently, she was just too busy to give the album release the attention it deserved.
Nevertheless, even though the album didn't see the light of day for a decade,
Von D still felt that her music was an important part of her creative process.
She explained,
"I think a lot of people know me for tattooing and makeup and things like that,
but I feel like music has always been the force behind all of it.”
Luckily, 2021 proved to be the perfect time for the delayed album.
Presumably because of the pandemic, she had time to plan the tour and focus on the album release.
For a while, Kat Von D chose to live a celibate life, as she told Loudwire Nights,
after realizing she had fallen into a pattern of entering toxic relationships.
She said,
"My type was like, I guess you could say daddy issues. For some reason,
I dated a lot of guys that had a lot of abandonment issues,
and that in turn would reflect into how they treated who they dated."
So, Von D took time off dating altogether to figure out why she was dating the wrong guys.
Luckily, her three-year period of celibacy seems to have worked. In 2018,
she tied the knot with Leafar Seyer and the pair seem to be happier than ever!
In 2017, Kat Von D spoke to Vogue Paris about her work. When asked about her favorite tattoo on her
body and her favorite tattoo she had ever done on someone else, she had a pretty surprising answer.
Her favorite tattoo on herself is a portrait of her father.
She said,
"He's my best friend so it's very reassuring always having him close like that."
As for her favorite tattoo on someone else, Von D explained that it can
change — especially as she's always trying to improve on her last piece.
She said,
"I like to think that the last tattoo I've done is the one which I am most proud of."
She went on to explain that she is constantly trying to learn new
styles and techniques from other artists so she can keep improving.
As fans of the tattoo artist may know, Kat Von D's makeup line is completely cruelty-free—as
you may have guessed, she is a vegan who is passionate about animal rights. As she
explained to Vegan Food & Living, she became a vegan after first spending time as a vegetarian.
She recalled,
"I went vegan after seeing the documentary 'Forks Over Knives' and I've never looked back."
For Von D, transitioning veganism wasn't too difficult — especially as she had
always loved animals. The principles of veganism felt like second nature.
She said,
"When it comes to the suffering of animals, I think everyone's a vegan deep down inside."
In a 2009 interview with The Aquarian, Kat Von D was asked about how much time she
had for tattooing. As the artist explained, she actually made time for tattooing every single day,
even though her career had already taken off. In fact, Von D explained that her obsession
with tattooing had gotten so out of hand, she had sought professional help for it.
She said,
"I'm actually going to therapy about it because I need to take a day off.”
Apparently, Von D loved tattooing so much she often tattooed for 10 hours a day!
“I’m a workaholic and I’m pretty used to tattooing nonstop,
so I just have to figure out a way to balance everything so I don’t get too stressed out.”
Of course, this was while she was working on her reality show, so it was all part of the job.
Nevertheless, we certainly hope she's learned how to take a day off work every now and then!
Kat Von D gave birth to her first child in 2018. Unlike many women,
Von D opted against consulting with a doctor throughout her pregnancy. As she told the Informed
Pregnancy podcast, she visited two OB/GYNs before deciding to use a midwife instead.
On meeting her midwife, Sarah, she said,
"The minute we met Sarah, it was like, 'Okay, let's get excited now.'"
With her help, Von D finally felt comfortable and confident about giving birth.
In a since deleted Instagram post, Von D went into more detail about her birth plan.
She explained that she was planning on having a natural,
drug-free home birth in water with a midwife and doula.
In 2020, Paris Hilton released a documentary about her life, in which she claimed she had
been emotionally and physically abused at a boarding school for troubled teens
called Provo Canyon. Shortly after the documentary was released, Kat Von D revealed on Instagram that
she had spent time at the same school after she had become interested in punk music and style.
In the 23-minute long video, Von D opened up about her traumatizing time at the school.
Apparently, she was at the school for just six months when she was 15,
but it was long enough to have life-changing consequences.
She wrote in the caption,
"I spent those six traumatic months of my teenage years, only to leave with major
PTSD and other traumas due to the unregulated, unethical, and abusive protocols of this school."
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