SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE
SIGN IN SEARCH MENU
SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE


Kat Von D

Full / Real Name: Katherine von Drachenberg
Born: 08 March 1982 (43 years old)
Gender: Female

Rate:

7.3

Add to Actor Favourites

Bio

Kat Von D is a Mexican-American tattoo artist and television personality best known for her work as a featured tattoo artist on the reality television show Miami Ink and her own spin-off series, LA Ink.

Born in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Von D moved to the United States when she was four, settling in Colton, California. Her father, René von Drachenberg, is of German descent and her mother, Sylvia Galeano has Spanish-Italian roots, but were both born in Argentina.

She speaks fluent Spanish and English.

Growing up in the Inland Empire, she made her first tattoo at age 14, a logo of the rock band Misfits. In early 1996, her friends asked her to pick up the machine and work on them (her first effort was a Misfits skull with a homemade rig).

In 1998, she began working in her first professional shop, Sin City Tattoo. This was a great period of growth in her work and led to her eventually moving to True Tattoo for a chance to work with Clay Decker and Chris Garver.

This afforded her the opportunity to live and work in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

While working at True Tatto, Von D met her ex-husband, Oliver Peck, and occasionally worked at his tattoo shop "Elm Street Tattoo" in Dallas, Texas.

Von D is currently dating Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue fame, and made their first media appearance as a couple on 31 March 2008 episode of Sirius Radio's 'Radio Bam', hosted by Von D's close friend and professional skateboarder Bam Margera.

"Von Drachenberg" is German and means "From the dragonmount".

Controversy

In February 2008, Von D was the subject of controversy when it was reported that an autographed head shot of herself was given to former co-worker and fellow tattoo artist Chris Garver to pass on to her ex-boss Ami James.

The head shot in question was autographed and signed: "Burn in hell Jewbag xoxo Kat Von D". The photo also had a drawing of a burning Star of David and a swastika.

Von D denied the accusations and stated through her publicist that:

"The recent accusation of a publicity photo of me with offensive and anti-semitic comments and graphics allegedly written by me is completely false and unfounded, and clearly a forgery. This was already proven many months ago to be 100 percent untrue. I always have been, and will continue to be an advocate for tolerance of all races, religions and ways of life."

Though Garver confirmed that Kat Von D herself handed him the autographed head shot, the TLC network stated that a full investigation was conducted and insufficient evidence existed to conclude that Von D authored the text.

Outside tattooing

Besides her tattoo career, Von D has also appeared in a version of HIM's music video for "Killing Loneliness". She has appeared on such shows as Tom Green's House Tonight, Late Night with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and The Ellen Degeneres Show.

She is also sponsored by the soda company Jones Soda and has worked with Vitamin Angels, a non-profit organisation that fights child blindness caused by vitamin deficiencies.

Von D has collaborated with professional skaters Bam Margera, Chad Muska, and Mike Vallely on their skateboard deck graphics.

She started Musink, which is a collaboration between famous bands and tattooers alike. In February 2008 Musink opened for the first time at the Orange County fairgrounds.


Television Roles


LATEST ARTICLES

New on TV today: Saturday 19 July 2025

Mockumentary comedy St. Denis Medical debuts on M-Net and Dark Side of the Ring returns to eReality.


On Carte Blanche: fake cremation ashes of loved ones

It's one of our worst fears and something we've always been suspicious of. How do you know ashes are legit?


Scandal! Teasers - August 2025

Mthunzi has to accept the deal on the table but then he strikes gold and all bets are off.


Yosef Teasers - August 2025

Yosef gets saved by a stranger and Sultan has a cunning plan to get rid of Kiraz.


New on TV today: Friday 18 July 2025

The only new show today is a run of Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie: Gulf Coast on Disney+.


Skemergrond character portrait: Denver Vraagom as Dominee Wayne Ackerman

Seven years sober and Denver's taking on the role of Mr Hallelujah.


Soulmates Teasers - August 2025

Chiti secretly films Sachin, framing him as a drunk driver, and the vid goes viral.


New on TV today: Thursday 17 July 2025

SA is featured in Surf Girls International on Prime Video and M-Net unpacks an Anatomy of Lies.


2025 Emmy Awards Popcorn Pack

The headline nominees, other interesting ones, overall tallies and a giggle.


Anupama Teasers - August 2025

Prem and Rahi host a fun cricket match, bringing both families together for a joyful time.

LATEST SITE ACTIVITY


More activity at TVSA Central



LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS



LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS





×
×

You browser doesn't have Flash, Silverlight, Gears, BrowserPlus or HTML5 support.