Kat Von D

Kat Von D has been permanently drawing on people's bodies since she was 15 and barely eligible for a driving permit. Ten years later, the 25-year-old Latina has become the poster girl for the now mainstream art of tattooing.

Born Katherine Drachenberg in Nuevo Léon, México to Argentine missionaries, the raven-haired beauty settled in Southern California with her family when she was four years old. Ten years later, Kat received her first tattoo: a homemade old English "J," on her left ankle. By age 18, the bilingual, self-described Beethoven fanatic was tattooing professionally at the Sin City Tattoo shop in San Bernardino, just outside of Los Angeles.

Like most tattoo artists who learn their craft by practicing on themselves, Kat Von D has also turned her own body into a canvas. Over 75% of her body is covered by ink, including portraits of her mother, father and sister. Kat developed her signature style, highly detailed black-and-gray portraiture, in various shops throughout the Golden State, building a diverse client list of celebrities including A.B. Quintanilla, Eve, Travis Barker and Bam Margera. Her TV-ready looks and prodigious talent earned her a spot as the only female artist on the reality TV show "Miami Ink," but alleged conflicts with the shop manager may have triggered Kat's departure in the middle of season two.

In 2007, Kat opened up the High Voltage tattoo shop in Hollywood and debuted as the star of the reality spin-off LA Ink. Von D's star has continued to rise: late last year, she set the Guinness World Record for most tattoos in a 24-hour period, tirelessly inking 400 eager fans with an "L.A." logo. According to her MySpace blog, over one thousand people showed up for the opportunity, a brilliant publicity stunt Von D hosted wearing a bikini top.

With season two of "LA Ink" on the way – and, perhaps, a baby – the charming Kat Von D could be the first bona fide rock star tattoo artist. Now, about that fashion line…