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

Rugby player Ruan Smith up for grabs in Op My Eish! 4

Old and busted: actors and singers. New hottness: sportsmen. If you fancy some sporty spice, get in the casting queue.


New on TV today: Wednesday 9 July 2025

Phones and cameras get you Caught! on ID, as Netflix begins Building the Band with the late Liam Payne.


New on TV today: Tuesday 8 July 2025

Mzansi Magic invites you to Lose It or Lose Me and Netflix documents The Real Project X.


On Carte Blanche: drug dealer doctors and pharmacists thrive in Benoni

D.I.S.G.U.S.T.I.N.G They're peddling high risk, addictive medication illegally and no-one's stopping them.


New! 016 FM Teasers - July 2025

DJ wars erupt and shady business lurks. Mpho Sebeng goes ON AIR in his final role.


New on TV today: Monday 7 July 2025

Drama series 016 FM begins on Mzansi Magic and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares returns to BBC Lifestyle.


New on TV today: Sunday 6 July 2025

Comedy-drama Is'thembu Sika Msongelwa begins a run on Wethu and reality low Icebo Labantu starts on SABC1.


New on TV today: Saturday 5 July 2025

Anime series The Summer Hikaru Died is available on Netflix and Jan Braai vir Erfenis returns to kykNET.


M-Net movies popcorn pack: July 2025

A guide to fliks on M-Net and the movie channels. Titles include Wicked, The Marksman and Chiwetel Ejiofor's Rob Peace.


New on TV today: Friday 4 July 2025

Anton & Giovanni's Adventures in Spain commence on BBC Earth and Blink Kant Bo returns to eExtra.

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.