Kat Von D

Kat Von D (Katherine or Kathy von Drachenberg) (born March 8, 1982 in Nuevo Leon, Mexico) is an American tattoo artist from California, best known for her work as a featured artist on the TLC reality television show Miami Ink. A subsequent TLC series starring her, LA Ink, premiered August 7, 2007.

Kat Von D was born to Argentine parents René Drachenberg and Sylvia Galeano. At age four, she and her family immigrated to the United States, settling in Colton, California. Von D is of German and Spanish-Italian descent.

Von D gave her first tattoo, a Misfits skull, at the age of fourteen. She started working at her first tattoo shop at age sixteen. Tim Hendricks was Kat's mentor. She is known for portraits and realistic art with an emphasis on black-and-gray. She has tattooed celebrities including Bam Margera, Mike Vallely and Ville Valo.

As of 2007, Von D lives in Hollywood, California and works at True Tattoo,, owned by Clay Decker. Besides her previous series' namesake shop, Miami Ink, she has also worked at Elm Street Tattoo in Dallas, Texas. She is frequently a featured artist at tattooing conferences in the United States and Canada.

Von D joined Miami Ink during its first season in 2005 but left the show in 2007 after escalating personal differences with shop owner Ami James.

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