Justin Bieber
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
Not shy about showing off some ink, Justin Bieber revealed another tattoo during his tour stop in Bologna, Italy. The placement this time? Sprawling text on his chest saying "Son of God." This is actually one of a few tattoos that refers to his Christian faith—he also has a cross on his stomach and a portrait of Jesus on his leg.
Jessica Alba
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
On The Late Show, Jessica Alba revealed to host Stephen Colbert she named her small wrist tattoo "My First Breakup." The Honest Company CEO said, "It's lotus in Sanskrit. It means the manifestation of spiritual beauty." Alba nonchalantly mentioned she got the ink after breaking up with a "famous actor"—who may or may not be NCIS star Michael Weatherly—and finding herself again.
Demi Lovato
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
Demi continues to add ink to her ever-growing collection, this time sharing the news via Snapchat. The singer posted videos while under the needle and later revealed two large roses underneath an older tattoo reading "Stay". Her snapchat videos appeared to show her getting a back tattoo as well, but Demi has yet to show it off.
Ruby Rose
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
The actress added to her myriad of tattoos with a set of Pantone color swatches. "Guys Home Depot is trying to save paper...So now you can order me and I will stand facing your wall until you pick the color you like," she wrote on Instagram. "I'll even stand facing the wall as you have breakfast and as you're watching tv at night so you can see the colors at different times. Offer limited. Conditions apply. *this is a completely false ad."
Demi Lovato
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
The 23-year-old singer just added another tattoo to her pretty extensive collection—a smiley face on her pinky finger. "Cause life's too short not to tattoo your pinky," she wrote on Instagram.
Kylie Jenner
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
After initially keeping fans in the dark about its meaning, Kylie has finally shared the story behind the red ink on her arm. She captioned an Instagram snap: "Grandmother's name in my grandfather's handwriting." The cursive script reads "Mary Jo."
Kylie Jenner
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
The super famous 18-year-old showed off her newest ink from celebrity artist Bang Bang on Instagram: the phonetic spelling of "sanity" in red ink on her right hip. The tattoo matches her other red ink—a heart above her elbow, also by Bang Bang. She also has an unidentified tat on her left hip...perhaps, "insanity?" The jury is out.
Sam Smith
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
Sam Smith recently got not one, not two, but FOUR new tattoos—all with significant meaning. The first, an equality sign inked on his wedding ring finger (shown) is "pretty self explanatory. It shows my views on gay marriage and equality for all." The second, a symbol on the inside of his finger, shows one of the first tattoos documented—found on a mummy "found buried alone in the ice." The third, script on his arm that says "honesty" is what Smith promises to be in his music. And the fourth? "Alone" on his other arm. "This is just me being a melancholy twat haha. I do see it as a small positive thou... No longer lonely... Just alone..."
Kendall Jenner
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
The model received possibly the smallest tattoo known to man on her hand—a tiny white dot. The meaning? As tattoo artist JonBoy (who did the ink) told Refinery29, "To her, it's the little things that matter. And the white color was because she didn't want it to show with modeling and all that."
Selena Gomez
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
The songstress got one of her newest tattoos in Arabic, which roughly translates to "love yourself first."
Miley Cyrus
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
Miley Cyrus got her first tattoo at 17—script of "Just Breathe" below her breast—as a tribute to her friend Vanessa who had died of lung disease and both of her grandfathers, who had died of lung cancer."It reminds me not to take things for granted. I mean breathing—that was something none of them could do, the most basic thing. And I put it near my heart, because that is where they will always be," she told Harper's Bazaar.
Emma Stone
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
Emma Stone shares a special bond with her mom–and Paul McCartney. To celebrate her mother being cancer-free, Emma and her mother marked the occasion with tattoos that pay tribute to their favorite song, Beatles' "Blackbird"...which were designed by Paul McCartney himself. Yes, really. The actress wrote a letter to the singer and "Blackbird" lyricist asking for a drawing of birds' feet to tattoo, and he responded by sending over the drawings. "Custom tattoos by Paul McCartney. Isn't that wild?" she told Us Weekly. "He's a good guy."
Vanessa Hudgens
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
The actress got her first tattoo when she was 22—a butterfly on the back of her neck. "It was very last minute, but I've actually wanted it for years," she told Letterman. "A butterfly landed on my mum's stomach a week before I was born and that's how I got my name, because Vanessa means butterfly—it's a Latin derivative."
Lady Gaga
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
One of the singer's most striking pieces is this arm tattoo, which features a German quote from Letters to a Young Poet written by Rainer Maria Rilke, along with the date 12/18/1974, which commemorates her aunt who died before she was born, but who she feels a deep connection to.
The tattoo speaks to solitude, which Gaga says as an artist you have to embrace. Translated, it reads: "In the deepest hour of the night; Confess to yourself that you would die if you were forbidden to write; And look deep into your heart where it spreads its roots, the answer; and ask yourself, must I write?"
Cara Delevingne
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
The model/actress/can-doer loves tattoos—including this one, script of her initials (Cara Jocelyn Delevingne) inked by Bang Bang NYC.
Angelina Jolie
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
Angelina is, famously, no stranger to tattoos, but her arm tattoo is possibly the cutest. It has all the coordinates of her children's birth places, along with Brad Pitt's. Awww.
Rihanna
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
RiRi had 1988, the year she was born, inked on her right ankle by Bang Bang, because of course.
Cara Delevingne
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
Cara Delevingne got a creepy (but cool) set of eyes tattooed on the back of her neck by Bang Bang. Delevingne has always been an advocate for trying to see the world from a different perspective, so it makes sense that she'd ink a literal reminder of that philosophy on her body.
Kesha
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19 Celebrity Tattoos and Exactly What They Mean
Kesha dressed up as a narwhal for Halloween after receiving the costume as a gift while on tour. It made for *such* an epic costume that Kesha decided to "immortalize" the night with a narwhal tattoo just a few days later.
