Thursday, November 22, 2007

Celebrity Tattoos

For most people, getting tattooed is a private, artistic decision. For a celebrity, getting a tattoo can become a media circus with future employment ramifications. Tattoo designs that were crafted with personal intention can suddenly become the latest must-have copycat item for hundreds of fans worldwide or become the subject of tattoo artist versus tattoo-wearer.

No other Academy Award-winning actress ever has as many tattoos as Angelina Jolie had. She acquires ink as she wishes and has done several cover-ups and a few laser removals along the way as well. Her collection is very much in the American vein of tattooing, with multiple tattoos on her arms, stomach and back. They mix languages and styles, and she gets them traveling around, almost like how sailors used to do it. Amy Winehouse is known for her big hair, her soulful voice, her wild behavior and a baker's dozen of tattoos. Her arms sport most of her tats.

Britney Spears!!! Her luck with the paparazzi is about as good as her luck with tattoos. Twice she has gotten tattoos that don't mean what she meant for them to say. The first was the Japanese kanji on her hip and second one she got on the back of her neck. She is also got a few other tattoos: a fairy, some pink dice, a daisy and a butterfly. Her latest bits of ink are a black, pink and white cross on her hips and a pair of red and pink lips on her wrist.

Soccer superstar David Beckham is probably best known to non-soccer fans for his fashion sense and his tattoos. Beckham's tattoo collection is a mix of personal religious symbolism and designs for his wife and two sons. The mix includes Hindu Sanskrit, Latin phrases, a few crosses and angels and the number 7, which he wore when he played for Manchester United in England. Specific pieces of ink are in honor of his wife, Victoria and their three sons, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz.

Johnny Depp is not only a leading man, but a leader in the realm of tattooed actors. He started getting skin art before it got trendy, and he's kept his whole ink collection very personal. In fact, most of the time, you won't see a single tattoo of his in any of his movie roles. Boxer Mike Tyson expanded on his tattoo collection (which includes Chairman Mao and the name "Mike") to include a tribal-style facial tattoo.