In the name of religious adoration or aesthetic expression, men and women from all cultures have been tattooing their bodies since the Neolithic era. This practice gives corporeal expression to presumptive inherited and tribal allegiances. This list reflects a greater cultural shift in how tattoos are perceived, despite formerly being associated with outlying society subgroups and being considered taboo emblems. Over a third of adult Americans will have tattoos by 2023, up from just 21% in 2012.
10. Gucci Mane
The Atlanta rapper debuted his most noticeable and recent tattoo on his right cheek in 2011: a triple scoop ice cream cone with the word “brrr” written on it. The tattoo, according to a spokeswoman for the pioneer of trap music, serves as a reminder to his followers that Mane has chosen to live a “cool as ice” existence. So icy, it’s said, that you might even say “brrr.”
10. Gucci Mane
9. Steve-O
The American entertainer and stuntman has more ridiculous tattoos than he has injuries from shooting the Jackass movies. Maybe most notable is his self-portrait, which takes up almost the whole space of his back.
9. Steve O
8. Presley Gerber
In February 2020, the 23-year-old son of celebrities Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber raised eyebrows by flashing his newest tattoo: a script version of the phrase “misunderstood” below his right eye. “Most and a lot of people can get a face lift, change genders, lip injections, etc. and it’s offensive to say anything in today’s day in age but I get a little face tattoo and now people love to hate me..Hmmmm?” wrote Gerber in response to the subsequent backlash his ink provoked on his Instagram story. Yet, it seems the young model had the tattoo removed in the intervening time.
8. Presley Gerber
7. Ben Affleck
In 2019, while the actor was filming Netflix’s Top Frontier, paparazzi photos of the beach scenes showed him wearing a tattoo that appeared to resemble a phoenix rising out of his buttocks. Affleck initially refuted the tattoo’s validity in 2016, but would subsequently acknowledge its validity, saying the artwork “represents something profoundly personal to me” to daytime show Ellen DeGeneres in 2019.
7. Ben Affleck
6. Amber Rose
Sometime around 2020, the former video vixen had the words “Bash Slash” tattooed across the top of her forehead. Rose later admitted that the tattoo was meant as a tribute to her sons Sebastian and Slash.
6. Amber Rose
5. Mike Tyson
In 2003, Tyson got his now-famous tribal tattoo etched onto his face just days before his fight with boxer and convicted robber Clifford Etienne. However, Tyson would later admit in a 2012 interview that he had originally planned to go with a more lovable motif: a cluster of hearts.
5. Mike Tyson
4. Pamela Anderson
It makes fitting that the glamour model, one of the most known pop culture icons from the 1990s, would have a tattoo of a barbed wire armband, representing the hottest ink fad at the time. It appears Anderson has now had the tattoo removed, maybe in response to its dated appearance after Y2K.
4. Pamela Anderson
3. Cara Delevingne
Although the English actor and model has more than 20 tattoos overall, her first, a hyper-realistic lion portrait on her knuckle, is still likely the most recognizable.
3. Cara Delevingne
2. Zac Efron
The High School Musical star got the crude acronym “YOLO” (You Only Live Once) tattooed on the back of his right hand sometime around 2011. The trite saying’s sentiment may still be valid, but Efron has since ordered its removal.
3. Cara Delevingne
1. Post Malone
To, apparently, give his under-eye bags a more concrete representation, the 27-year-old rapper recently had the words “always tired” tattooed underneath each of his eyes. The singer for White Iverson joked when asked about the reception of his somewhat eccentric tattoo preferences, “I got a face for radio anyways, so why not?”
