It's hard to a remember that there was once a time when we knew more about the interior design of a celebrity's bathroom than we did about their tattoos. But times change and MTV shows get cancelled. In 2020, celebrities keep their homes private, like really private, and their tattoos public. It's more common than ever before that a celebrity reveals to their millions of Instagram followers the tiny tattoo they got on their wrist last Wednesday. Even with so much sharing, it's hard to keep up with how many tattoos our favourite celebrities are collecting, which is exactly why we figured it was time to compile all the best celebrity tattoos [1] of the year — well, so far.
From Ariana Grande's secret butterfly tattoo [2] to Miley Cyrus's ever-growing collection [3], it's time to check out the celebrity tattoo track record for 2020.
Ariana Grande's Butterfly Tattoo
At this year's Grammys, Grande slyly revealed a new tattoo fans had no idea she had: a sizable butterfly tattoo [4] on the back of her left arm. Grande is one of the few celebrities to rarely make open comments about her ink, but it's assumed she got this design to match her close friend Courtney Chipolone [5].
Orlando Bloom's Son Tribute
Few of us ever thought we'd be talking so much about Orlando Bloom and his tattoos [6] . . . and then he got a misspelled tattoo in honour of his son. The dots and dashes on his arm are actually his son's name, Flynn, spelled out in Morse code. Unfortunately, the first time around, the code spelled out "Frynn" and not "Flynn." Luckily, he quickly fixed it with an extra dot and visit to his tattoo artist. He also added a tiny tribute to his dog, Sidi, in the process.
Selena Gomez's "Rare" Tattoo
In honour of her new album Rare, Gomez added a tattoo of the word behind her right ear, courtesy of tattoo artist Keith "Bang Bang" McCurdy in New York. Of course, this isn't Gomez's first piece of ink — she has 12 tattoos in total. [7]
Vanessa Hudgens's Sunflower Tattoo
It's rare that we see a celebrity sport a colourful tattoo, but Vanessa Hudgens [8] added a tiny sunflower tattoo [9] to her collection earlier this year.
Presley Gerber's "Misunderstood" Tattoo
I think it's safe to dub Presley Gerber's face tattoo the most shocking of 2020. Of course, the very visible ink was met with some backlash on social media, which Gerber apparently addressed on an Instagram Live in February. According to Page Six [10], Gerber reportedly told viewers, "If I thought this was going to ruin my face or I didn't want this, I wouldn't have done it. I think that's a pretty obvious thing."
Luna Blaise's "Strawberry Fields" Tattoo
One of tattoo artist JonBoy [11]'s signatures is red-ink tattoos, which he displayed on Manifest actress Luna Blaise. Fans might safely assume the "Strawberry Fields" tattoo was inspired by The Beatles, although Blaise has yet to confirm.
Luna Blaise's Heart Tattoos
Blaise also added these two tiny hearts to her finger while visiting JonBoy in early February.
Amelia Gray Hamlin's "Lady" Tattoo
JonBoy's other signature: script tattoos. He added this script text of the word "Lady" to Amelia Gray Hamlin's inner arm back in February.
Ashley Benson's "California California" Tattoo
Ashley Benson is big fan of matching tattoos. Case in point: she added the word "California" [12] to her mid back to match her friend Tara as an homage to their home state.
Ashley Benson's "Pommes Frites" Tattoo
A day later, JonBoy revealed that Benson and Tara got a second set of matching tattoos. This time, it was dedicated to what is probably their — and our — favourite food: pommes frites [13] (aka french fries).
Justin Bieber's Collar Wreath Tattoo
Justin Bieber is well on his way to being tatted from head to toe [14], literally — just look at his new neck and collarbone tattoos. First he added the bird and word "Forever" to his neck in late December. By the end of January, Bieber was spotted with this delicate leaf design wrapped around his collarbone. Sadly, Bieber did not reveal any of the meanings behind his ink in Seasons [15], but according to Cosmopolitan, the leaf tattoo closely resembles a laurel wreath [16], which is often used as a symbol for those who persevere.
Yara Shahidi's Wrist Tattoo
Yara Shahidi [17] added two tattoos to her tiny collection almost completely under the radar this year. In early February, tattoo artist Evan [18] revealed the new ink on his Instagram, mentioning that the two new designs — the word "soul" seemingly written in Farsi on Shahidi's wrist and a map location pin on her foot — bring her collection to a total of three. Our only question: where's the third hiding? Turns out, it's on her upper right arm. It's the number "63" representing the year 1963 [19], a pivotal year in the Civil Rights Movement.
Kaia Gerber's Shoulder Tattoo
Just like her brother, Kaia Gerber is quickly building an impressive tattoo collection of her own. Her most recent: a delicate tattoo of two arms wrapping into the shape of a heart. It's one of her most visible tattoos to date, sitting on the side of her right arm.
Miley Cyrus's Matisse Tattoo
Would it be a new year if it didn't include Miley Cyrus [20] adding to her collection of over 30 tattoos? Not at all. It took her a few months, but Cyrus closed out February with an artistic design inspired by famous artist Henri Matisse [21] and his illustrations in Dance Me to the End of Love, a book that visualized Leonard Cohen's song of the same name.
LeBron James's Kobe Tribute
In late January, LeBron James added a snake tattoo [22] on his leg to pay tribute to the late Kobe Bryant [23]. James showed off the process of getting the tattoo on Instagram, garnering lots of positive attention from fans regarding the massive piece of ink. The tattoo's snake imagery, drawn by artist Vanessa Aurelia [24], is in reference to Bryant's nickname, Black Mamba.
Joey King's Arm Tattoo
It's not confirmed when Joey King added this abstract tattoo to the back of her arm [25], but it was first publicly revealed during award season. While we don't know exactly what the detailed design means, we do know it was created by LA artist Dr. Woo.
