Times when having a tattoo was the wildest act of rebellion and something only outlaws and jail birds used to do are apparently long gone. Tattooing is now so mainstream that there is hardly a celebrity that has no ink on his/her skin whether they chose to show it off in public by putting the tattoo in some obvious place where everyone can see it, or they decide to place it in a more private spot. Their fans even decide to copy them and show how much they adore their celebrity idols by having the exact the same tattoo.
Jolie is no stranger to tattoo removal, as well, with seven tattoos being either reinked or covered using laser tattoo removal. A left arm tattoo in honor of her ex-husband, Billy Bob Thornton, has since been removed and reinked with the longitude and latitude coordinates where she adopted or gave birth to her four children (Maddox, Zahara, Pax, and Shilo, respectively). The Japanese symbol for death, on her left shoulder, is now a prayer of Buddhist Sanskrit symbols for her son Maddox.
Johnny Deep, Angelina's partner in their latest mutual movie The Tourist, is also known as one of Hollywood's most avid tattoo collector because of the numerous tattoo designs holding special significance.
In Pirates, Depp's played Captain Jack Sparrow, a role which required a fake tattoo on his right forearm: a swallow over a sunset with "Jack" tattooed underneath. He liked the tattoo so much that he had it permanently tattooed on his arm after shooting was completed. He has said that the tattoo honors his son Jack. The actor, who is part Cherokee, also has a Cherokee Indian tattoo on his upper right arm.
Like many tattoo enthusiasts, Johnny Depp has had one of his tattoos modified. His "Winona forever" tattoo, which he had tattooed on his upper right arm while engaged to actress Winona Ryder, has since been partially removed. It now reads "Wino forever."
The controversial pop singer has a large number of tattoos, including Hebrew characters on the back of her neck, a butterfly and a vine on her left foot, the Chinese symbol for "mystery" near her navel, and a pair of pink dice on her left forearm (which match a pair of blue dice on Kevin Federline's right forearm).
Britney's most prominent tattoo is this six-inch fairy on her lower back. The fairy represents fate, and the unpredictable gifts and disappointments that destiny often brings our way. An appropriate tattoo design, since the Oops!...I Did It Again songstress has certainly had her share of both.
The Pirates of the Carribean star has a sun tattoo design on the left side of his stomach, below his navel. More intriguing, however, is the tattoo design on his right wrist. Based on the Elvish word for "The Nine," the wrist tattoo is a reference to the nine actors who made up the Fellowship of the Ring in The Lord of the Rings movies. All nine actors received the same tattoo, except for John Rhys-Davies, who played Gimli the Dwarf (he sent his stunt double to receive the tattoo instead).
Long an Internet favorite, Pam Anderson has several tattoos on her back, finger, and forearm. The tattoo she is most known for, of course, is the barbwire design on her left arm. Though the barbwire design originally came out of prison culture, the "Barb Wire" star singlehandedly popularized it for our generation. This Baywatch cutie and former Playboy Playmate has probably done more to advance tattoo culture than her ex-husband, Tommy Lee!
The famous British football (soccer) midfielder sports some serious ink! His three children (Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz) are represented on his back, and in the three cherubs on the inside of his biceps. In his autobiography, David Beckham: My Side, he explains, "I like the feeling that [my children] are with me even when I'm away from home ... my dad had three tattoos of his own and so the idea has been with me since I was a kid."
More recently, the husband of Spice Girl and fellow tattoo enthusiast Victoria Beckham has adorned his right arm with a dense tattoo that includes a guardian angel engulfed in flames. The tattoo, which reportedly took six hours to complete, also include words from a Roman poem, translated as: "Let them hate as long as they fear."
Now, after saying all that and agreeing that there's nothing weird with having rock musicians, movie stars, sportsmen and others covered in ink, let's have a look at some people who's decision of having a tattoo caused a few raised eyebrows, like famous politicians and historical figures.
Sir Winston proudly sported an anchor tattoo on his right arm. And why not? His mother, Jennie Churchill, had a snake tattoo encircling her wrist.
I'm not even gonna get into it how mainstream tattooing has become when even royalties are digging it and doing it! Princess Stephanie may hold the record for royalty with the most body art. She has flowers, dolphins, and text inked all over her body. Her mother lovingly calls her the “wild child.â€
Some may be surprised to know that “America’s Son,†the late JFK Jr., was tattooed twice. His first and more rebellious tattoo was a dagger on his right bicep. Then, in the summer of 1991, he had a Shamrock design done on his foot.
Recently Barbie designed by the L.A.-based Tokidoki brand was released with a pale pink bob, stacked bracelets, an annoyed-looking pet named Bastardino (seriously) and, oh yeah, a ton of tattoos on her neck and shoulders. They say the doll was made only for adult collectors, but still this didn't prevent the rage outburst of angry parents all over US.
Apparently, the question isn't anymore Guess Who's Inked, but Guess Who's Not. It is almost like having a tattoo doesn't really mean anything anymore. But, then how come there are about half a million searches for celebrity tattoo online? Is ink on skin became the mini skirts of 60s'? It's something that everybody is talking about and it wore out, but still there are shy and suppressed people that wish they had courage to do it? Well, for all those shy people out there, I hope this tattoo gallery of celebs will help. And, after all, if Churchill and J.F.K did it, why wouldn't you? Sources: 1|2|3|4
