25 Badass Lady Tattoo Artists From Around The World

The lovely Maud Wagner, known to be the first woman tattoo artist in the United States, was born in 1877. She worked as an aerialist and contortionist before meeting and eventually marrying tattoo artist Gus Wagner at a World's Fair where she was performing. So the story goes, she agreed to go on a date with him in exchange for a lesson on tattooing. And they lived inked up and happily ever after.

Wagner paved the way for artistically inclined women to put ink to skin and see what transpires. Today we're ogling 25 of the best in the business, chosen from all around the world. Creating botanical line drawings, nostalgia-inducing geishas, watercolor bouquets, coiling serpents, sacred geometry and much more, the following artists inject bodies with stories, artworks, memories and very, very fine lines. As far as renegade artists we want to be, these ladies are at the top of the list.

1. Angelique Houtkamp

Salon Serpent (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

A photo posted by SALON SERPENT TATTOO (@angeliquehoutkamp) on Sep 24, 2015 at 8:45am PDT

A photo posted by SALON SERPENT TATTOO (@angeliquehoutkamp) on Aug 21, 2015 at 9:12am PDT

A photo posted by SALON SERPENT TATTOO (@angeliquehoutkamp) on Jun 26, 2015 at 11:06am PDT

2. Dominique Holmes

Appointment only (London, United Kingdom)

A photo posted by Dominique Holmes (@domholmestattoo) on Sep 25, 2015 at 5:58am PDT

A photo posted by Dominique Holmes (@domholmestattoo) on Aug 6, 2015 at 10:31am PDT

A photo posted by Dominique Holmes (@domholmestattoo) on Jul 22, 2015 at 11:08am PDT

3. Kate Selbie

Appointment only (Brighton,United Kingdom)

A photo posted by Kate Mackay Gill (@kate_selkie) on Jul 6, 2015 at 5:48am PDT

A photo posted by Kate Mackay Gill (@kate_selkie) on Oct 3, 2015 at 3:37pm PDT

A photo posted by Kate Mackay Gill (@kate_selkie) on Oct 4, 2015 at 12:22pm PDT

A photo posted by Kate Mackay Gill (@kate_selkie) on Aug 16, 2015 at 3:19am PDT

4. Laura Juan

Appointment only (Barcelona, Spain)

A photo posted by Laura Juan (@laurajuanletatouage) on Sep 27, 2015 at 5:17am PDT

A photo posted by Laura Juan (@laurajuanletatouage) on Sep 26, 2015 at 1:48am PDT

A photo posted by Laura Juan (@laurajuanletatouage) on Sep 22, 2015 at 2:56am PDT

5. Lauren Winzer

Hunter & Fox (Sydney, Australia)

A photo posted by Lauren Winzer (@laurenwinzer) on Sep 29, 2015 at 9:11pm PDT

A photo posted by Lauren Winzer (@laurenwinzer) on Sep 29, 2015 at 12:02am PDT

A photo posted by Lauren Winzer (@laurenwinzer) on Sep 28, 2015 at 4:17pm PDT

6. Amanda Ruby

Appointment only (Kent, United Kingdom)

A photo posted by Amanda Ruby (@amandaruby12) on Sep 20, 2014 at 11:33am PDT

A photo posted by Amanda Ruby (@amandaruby12) on Jun 30, 2014 at 1:54pm PDT

A photo posted by Amanda Ruby (@amandaruby12) on Mar 12, 2013 at 7:39am PDT

7. Marine Meringue

Appointment only ("On the road," France)

A photo posted by Marine Meringue (@marinemeringue) on Sep 21, 2015 at 3:22am PDT

A photo posted by Marine Meringue (@marinemeringue) on Feb 22, 2015 at 1:29am PST

A photo posted by Marine Meringue (@marinemeringue) on Nov 29, 2014 at 10:57pm PST

8. Amy Nicolett

Appointment only (Los Angeles, California)

A photo posted by amynicoletto (@amynicolettotattoo) on Jun 9, 2015 at 10:17pm PDT

A photo posted by amynicoletto (@amynicolettotattoo) on Jul 21, 2015 at 3:53pm PDT

A photo posted by amynicoletto (@amynicolettotattoo) on Apr 14, 2015 at 10:26pm PDT

9. Aga Mlotkowska

ArtCorpus (Paris, France)

A photo posted by aga mlotkowska (@agamlotkowska) on Oct 3, 2015 at 7:29am PDT

A photo posted by aga mlotkowska (@agamlotkowska) on Sep 25, 2015 at 2:29pm PDT

A photo posted by aga mlotkowska (@agamlotkowska) on Sep 17, 2015 at 1:32pm PDT

10. Clare Clarity

Hot Copper Studio (Melbourne, Australia)

A photo posted by Clare (@clareclarity) on Oct 3, 2015 at 1:09am PDT

A photo posted by Clare (@clareclarity) on Sep 26, 2015 at 12:26am PDT

A photo posted by Clare (@clareclarity) on Aug 8, 2015 at 1:07am PDT

11. Jemma Jones

Sacred Electric Tattoo (Leeds, United Kingdom)

A photo posted by @wolfspit on Sep 9, 2015 at 10:51am PDT

A photo posted by @wolfspit on Sep 22, 2015 at 10:16am PDT

A photo posted by @wolfspit on Sep 19, 2015 at 10:08am PDT

12. Julia Bicudo

Sampa Tattoo (São Paulo, Brazil)

A photo posted by @juliabicudo on Sep 22, 2015 at 8:09am PDT

A photo posted by @juliabicudo on Jun 15, 2015 at 7:46am PDT

A photo posted by @juliabicudo on Jan 27, 2015 at 4:56am PST

13. Tami Tattoos

Tattoo Zoo (Victoria, British Columbia)

A photo posted by Tami Tattoos (@tamitattoos) on Sep 9, 2015 at 9:57pm PDT

A photo posted by Tami Tattoos (@tamitattoos) on Sep 9, 2015 at 9:53pm PDT

A photo posted by Tami Tattoos (@tamitattoos) on Jul 11, 2015 at 7:09pm PDT

14. Valerie Vargas

Modern Classic (London,United Kingdom)

A photo posted by Valerie Vargas (@valeriemodernclassic) on Jul 11, 2015 at 11:54am PDT

A photo posted by Valerie Vargas (@valeriemodernclassic) on Jul 8, 2015 at 1:12pm PDT

A photo posted by Valerie Vargas (@valeriemodernclassic) on Sep 19, 2015 at 11:13am PDT

15. Tamara Santibañez

Saved Tattoo (Brooklyn, New York)

A photo posted by Tamara Santibañez (@tamarasantibanez) on Oct 2, 2015 at 6:25pm PDT

A photo posted by Tamara Santibañez (@tamarasantibanez) on Oct 1, 2015 at 4:20pm PDT

A photo posted by Tamara Santibañez (@tamarasantibanez) on Sep 25, 2015 at 1:38pm PDT

16. Mimi Wunsch

Sea Wolf Tattoo Co. (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

A photo posted by Mimi Wunsch (@miwunsch) on Oct 4, 2015 at 7:13pm PDT

A photo posted by Mimi Wunsch (@miwunsch) on Sep 16, 2015 at 4:16pm PDT

A photo posted by Mimi Wunsch (@miwunsch) on Sep 30, 2015 at 1:17pm PDT

17. Rene Botha

The Fall (Vancouver, BC)

A photo posted by Rene (@renebotha_tattoos) on Oct 3, 2015 at 7:29pm PDT

A photo posted by Rene (@renebotha_tattoos) on Sep 2, 2015 at 7:03pm PDT

A photo posted by Rene (@renebotha_tattoos) on Feb 4, 2015 at 6:50pm PST

18. Jéssica Coqueiro

Sampa Tattoo (São Paulo, Brazil)

A photo posted by Jéssica Coqueiro (@jer_coqueiro) on Sep 30, 2015 at 9:14am PDT

A photo posted by Jéssica Coqueiro (@jer_coqueiro) on Sep 28, 2015 at 1:54pm PDT

A photo posted by Jéssica Coqueiro (@jer_coqueiro) on Sep 21, 2015 at 10:55am PDT

19. Jessica Swaffer

Chapel Tattoo (Melbourne, Australia)

A photo posted by Jessica Swaffer (@jess_swaffer) on Sep 29, 2015 at 8:07pm PDT

A photo posted by Jessica Swaffer (@jess_swaffer) on Sep 9, 2015 at 8:01pm PDT

A photo posted by Jessica Swaffer (@jess_swaffer) on Aug 3, 2015 at 7:17pm PDT

20. Kym Munster

Custom Inc. (Glasgow, United Kingdom)

A photo posted by Kym Munster (@feline_sick) on Oct 1, 2015 at 5:08pm PDT

A photo posted by Kym Munster (@feline_sick) on Aug 15, 2015 at 8:39am PDT

A photo posted by Kym Munster (@feline_sick) on Aug 1, 2015 at 5:19am PDT

21. Alanna Mule

Adrenaline Tattoo (Toronto, Canada)

A photo posted by Alanna Mule (@alannamule) on Sep 28, 2015 at 2:54pm PDT

A photo posted by Alanna Mule (@alannamule) on Aug 12, 2015 at 3:26pm PDT

A photo posted by Alanna Mule (@alannamule) on Feb 16, 2015 at 7:45am PST

22. Anna Day

Westside Tattoo (Brisbane, Australia)

A photo posted by Anna Day (@anna_day) on Sep 2, 2015 at 7:54pm PDT

A photo posted by Anna Day (@anna_day) on Sep 2, 2015 at 10:03pm PDT

A photo posted by Anna Day (@anna_day) on Aug 8, 2015 at 2:07am PDT

23. Julie Bolene

American Electric (Los Angeles, California)

A photo posted by Julie Bolene (@juliebolene) on Oct 5, 2015 at 4:47pm PDT

A photo posted by Julie Bolene (@juliebolene) on Oct 3, 2015 at 9:12pm PDT

A photo posted by Jéssica Coqueiro (@jer_coqueiro) on Sep 21, 2015 at 10:55am PDT

24. Pippa Parlett

Appointment only (London, United Kingdom)

A photo posted by pippaparlett (@pippaparlett) on Jan 28, 2015 at 4:31pm PST

A photo posted by pippaparlett (@pippaparlett) on Jan 30, 2013 at 12:14am PST

A photo posted by pippaparlett (@pippaparlett) on Sep 14, 2015 at 1:51pm PDT

25. Virginia Elwood

Saved Tattoo (Brooklyn, New York)

Progress on @noahmichelson #ItsForMe #ItsForMeNYC #virginiaelwood

A photo posted by Virginia Elwood (@virginiaelwood) on Sep 7, 2014 at 11:42am PDT

A photo posted by Virginia Elwood (@virginiaelwood) on Jun 13, 2013 at 7:43pm PDT

A photo posted by Virginia Elwood (@virginiaelwood) on Nov 21, 2013 at 7:13pm PST

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Women's Tattoos -- And The Meaning Behind Each

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25 Badass Lady Tattoo Artists From Around The World

1. Angelique Houtkamp

2. Dominique Holmes

3. Kate Selbie

4. Laura Juan

5. Lauren Winzer

6. Amanda Ruby

7. Marine Meringue

8. Amy Nicolett

9. Aga Mlotkowska

10. Clare Clarity

11. Jemma Jones

12. Julia Bicudo

13. Tami Tattoos

14. Valerie Vargas

15. Tamara Santibañez

16. Mimi Wunsch

17. Rene Botha

18. Jéssica Coqueiro

19. Jessica Swaffer

20. Kym Munster

21. Alanna Mule

22. Anna Day

23. Julie Bolene

24. Pippa Parlett

25. Virginia Elwood

Women's Tattoos -- And The Meaning Behind Each

Support HuffPost

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

Your Loyalty Means The World To Us

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What's Hot

1. Angelique Houtkamp

2. Dominique Holmes

3. Kate Selbie

4. Laura Juan

5. Lauren Winzer

6. Amanda Ruby

7. Marine Meringue

8. Amy Nicolett

9. Aga Mlotkowska

10. Clare Clarity

11. Jemma Jones

12. Julia Bicudo

13. Tami Tattoos

14. Valerie Vargas

15. Tamara Santibañez

16. Mimi Wunsch

17. Rene Botha

18. Jéssica Coqueiro

19. Jessica Swaffer

20. Kym Munster

21. Alanna Mule

22. Anna Day

23. Julie Bolene

24. Pippa Parlett

25. Virginia Elwood

Women's Tattoos -- And The Meaning Behind Each

Support HuffPost

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

Your Loyalty Means The World To Us

Related

Popular in the Community

From Our Partner

What's Hot

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