Kat Von D broke onto the scene as the hot-chick tattoo artist on Miami Ink in 2005.
Ever since, she's been busy building her brand, advocating for the vegan lifestyle,
and crushing it in the industry. From her early childhood in Mexico
to her successful global brand, here's why this rebel entrepreneur keeps turning heads.
Kat Von D has been living an enviable life in Los Angeles for well over a decade at this point, but
she often finds herself pining for the simplicity of her past. She once posted on Instagram,
"As much as I love life in this present time, I must admit: my happiest memories
took place during my first 6 years alive. […] My family was so close back then,
the five of us, and things felt so real. So simple. We had nothing and everything."
"My dad is my hero and I always attribute any good quality in me, to him."
Von D's parents moved from Argentina to Mexico, where Kat was born in 1982. Her dad was a
missionary doctor, which landed them in a small town just outside Monterrey. She told PopSugar,
"Let's put it this way, in this town, you were more likely to see a horse than you
would a car. […] By no means did we live a life of 'luxury' in the conventional sense."
Von D has certainly come an awfully long way since then.
According to Variety, the late 19th-century Hollywood Hills mansion that Von D listed for
$3.4 million in 2020 features more bathrooms than it does bedrooms.
Von D's family immigrated to the States in 1988. She recalled to PopSugar,
"I was six years old, and the seven hour drive that it took to reach the Texas
border felt like weeks. Even though I didn't fully understand what big changes were ahead,
I felt it. I think we all did."
They settled down in Loma Linda , a small town in San Bernardino County, California.
And after spending a decade in the States, Von D became a US citizen. Years later, she shared
her thoughts on the border wall, writing in a now-deleted caption on Instagram in 2017,
"The idea of building a wall between the US and Mexico damages us all on so many levels. But the
ridiculous [and] obvious financial damage it would do to our country is insignificant
when compared to the underlying message it sends that one race is below another."
In 2017, Von D revealed via Instagram that when she and her family first arrived in California,
"I didn't even know one word of English."
Von D and her siblings had no choice but to dive
right in and learn the language as they went. She told PopSugar,
"At some point, somewhere between church and school,
my parents said we came back knowing how to speak English. But at home,
we only really spoke our mixture of Mexican and Argentinian Spanish."
Still, instead of focusing on the struggle, Von D saw being the new kid as a total bonus. She said,
"Being from another country and culture made me feel different.
In a good way. I felt special. And I also felt like I had an advantage.
I think being bilingual helped me understand English even more than my peers at times."
"When I look back at it all, like, uh, it's good that it happened the way it did,
uh, because I appreciate things in a special way."
Even now, Von D continues to draw on her roots in everything she does. She told PopSugar,
"[It's in] the music I write, the way I draw,
the Spanish shade names and themes for my makeup collection, and even why I choose to
live in Los Angeles. Mexican culture is so prominent here in the city."
By her own admission, Von D was a, quote, "angry, defiant 15 year
old," but she would prove to be no match for the notorious Provo Canyon School in Utah.
Having just begun to dip a toe into the goth look she would become famous for,
back then, Von D started dressing in black and styling her hair in ways that her religious
parents didn't approve of. After reaching their wits' end, they ultimately arranged
for their daughter to be taken to a boarding school for troubled kids, against her will.
"I hate to imagine that there's someone else out there that can relate to my experience because
I would never wish this upon anybody."
In a chilling Instagram video she called "What it's like to be kidnapped and locked up in an
institution," Von D revealed that strangers came into her home in the middle of the night and took
her to Utah. The experience left her with, quote, "major PTSD." Von D chose to speak up after Paris
Hilton revealed that she had been subjected to abuse, also at Provo Canyon School. Kat revealed,
"I was sent to the same place, and I was 15 when I was sent, and I spent my 16th
birthday in there. I was there for a total of 6 months, and they were definitely the most
traumatic 6 months of my life." As a kid growing up in California,
Von D and her family became involved in the Seventh Day Adventist religion. Their town,
Loma Linda, was known for its big population of observers. As she recalled to PopSugar,
"We kept the Sabbath, went to church on Saturdays,
followed the ten commandments, and didn't eat any pork or fish without scales (don't ask)."
But as she got older, Von D stepped away from her parents' way of life, and soon enough, she
started expressing herself through her fashion, art, and tattoos. She told The Fix in 2016,
"I first started tattooing when I was 14 years old, and I got into my first shop when I was 16.
I really felt like it was a luxury to be able to do something that you love."
"When I was a kid, I'd always say, 'Oh, I wanna be a doctor like my dad,' and my dad would be like,
'No mija, you have to be an artist.' And I'm like that's not realistic."
Von D's passion for tattooing eventually became so all-consuming, she dropped out of school.
Though her parents were always supportive of her creativity, Von D noted her decision
to pursue tattooing full time was difficult for her mom and dad. She told PR.com in 2008,
"I had a mohawk […] my dad's a doctor and they were missionaries for the church."
"I was lucky to have parents that told me that I was awesome, or they believed in me."
Von D's parents embraced her decision, and championed her
talents as she launched her career. After years spent honing her inking skills,
Von D was given the chance to star on the small screen with Miami Ink, in 2005.
At the time, she felt fortunate to be able to pave the way for women in the industry, telling PR.com,
"There's not that many tattoo artists that are girls and that are also cool and don't
get offended, and who are actually good and have been tattooing a long time.
The network approved me and I flew down there."
"I've spent the last year working in Miami and it was rough."
"Now I'm back in my hometown of LA to start a whole new life."
Von D eventually returned to her old stomping grounds
when L.A. Ink premiered in 2007. She explained,
"I'm so used to living in Hollywood where it's totally not a big deal to be tattooed.
To be separated from that and put in South Beach, I got a lot of weird looks in a bathing suit."
Von D starred on L.A. Ink for four years until 2011.
Though Von D was still appearing on L.A. Ink in the late 2000s,
she was keeping herself busy with plenty of other projects. The tatted bombshell was given
the opportunity to reinvent her career when she launched her very own makeup line in 2008.
After grabbing the attention of viewers with her one-of-a-kind style and undeniable talent,
makeup giant Sephora offered her a deal — and Kat Von D Beauty was born. She shared with PR.com,
"I wasn't too sure how the public would respond. A lot of people, even though they do like me,
they think I look different. I tried to find a good balance between wearing something
that's wearable in public and then if you want to get a little bit crazy you can."
"We all do have different sides to us, y'know, we're not always the same person."
Kat Von D Beauty was a total hit, and throughout the early 2010s,
Kat completely expanded her brand. In the beginning, she was focused on
eye makeup and beauty tools, but she would later branch out into skin care and fragrances. Plus,
the whole operation would eventually go completely vegan. She told Vegan Food and Living in 2018,
"From the beginning I refused to test on animals. […] Soon after we launched we went through all the
ingredients with a fine tooth comb and replaced anything non-vegan with all vegan ingredients."
In honor of the 10th anniversary of Kat Von D Beauty in 2018,
Kat launched a campaign that featured…
"Ten muses of all backgrounds, ages and skin tones who represent the many faces of Kat Von D Beauty."
"It's basically my little piece of heaven that I get to share with everybody."
Her mom, Sylvia, was among them, starring alongside a host of designers and supermodels.
Kat has always been in awe of her mom's natural beauty;
even lamenting the fact that she doesn't resemble her more. She posted on Instagram in 2014,
"Sadly, I inherited none of her beautiful Argentinian-gypsy features."
Considering that her dad is of German descent, when Von D won the Latino Spirit Award for
Achievement in Business and Entertainment in 2018, she told the California Latino Legislative Caucus,
"Most people assume that I am a white girl. […] I think being a Latina can
transcend what skin color you are, and I think a lot of people forget that.
We treat people differently based on skin tone and a lot of that hasn't changed over the years."
Von D believes that, as someone who has, quote,
"one foot in both worlds," she's perfectly positioned to bring people together.
After nearly two decades of putting her career on the front burner,
Von D gave love another shot with Rafael Reyes . Though the entrepreneur had dated her fair
share of men over the years — including Jesse James, Steve-O, Deadmau5 , and her first husband,
Oliver Peck — it appeared a lasting relationship wasn't in the cards for
Von D until she met author and musician Rafa , also known by his stage name, Leafar Seyer .
"I just looked at him going I'm just so lucky to have him in my life. And I
felt that from the very beginning, that we were kindred spirits in that sense."
The two were first linked in 2016 after they met on the set of a music video for one of his songs,
and sparks flew immediately. After two years of dating,
the lovebirds tied the knot in a private ceremony in February 2018. Von D posted on Instagram,
"It was a beautiful sacred thing to get married alone, just the two of us."
The couple held an over-the-top second wedding months later in June 2018. And by November of that
year, the pair welcomed their son, Leafar. For his first birthday in 2019, Von D posted to Instagram,
"I'm so lucky that I'm able to be there to witness each and every moment. Every day
I look forward to seeing him grow into the sweet little boy he is becoming."
Von D's dedication to her career has been unwavering throughout the decades,
but that doesn't mean she doesn't carve out time for a personal life.
Since getting married and starting a family, Von D has transformed from a total tattoo baddy
into a bit of a softie. On Instagram, the High Voltage Tattoo author loves
giving fans glimpses into her life as a mom. As she captioned a photo in December 2020,
"I'd do anything for this little one."
Notably, in 2020, Von D made the decision to leave her longtime brand, Kat Von D Beauty, after 12
years. The news came months after she launched her vegan shoe line, Von D Shoes, in November 2019.
"It was just so hard to find beautifully designed, long lasting, high quality shoes
that weren't made out of some type of animal product."
After reflecting on all the milestones she had reached over the last few years,
Von D decided to take a step back from her beauty line and create a little extra space in her life.
Revealing that she sold all her shares in the business to beauty brand incubator Kendo,
she said in a press release,
"It has become clear to me that I just can't do everything at the maximum capacity.
I decided I wanted the makeup line to continue to thrive and grow."
But while she might be stepping away from the makeup industry in order to focus on other
ventures, Von D certainly has no intentions of leaving the spotlight. She teased in early 2020,
"[I] am now busy prepping to release my long-awaited album in the Spring,
followed by an international tour!"
It sounds like Von D has some surprises up her sleeve — and we can't wait to see what's next!
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