Lady Gaga has twenty-three tattoos located on various part on the left side of her body. During the Musicians@Google Presents: Google Goes Gaga, Gaga revealed that she only has tattoos on the left side of her body because her dad asked her to keep one side of her body 'slightly normal'. She referred to her left side of her body like her 'Iggy Pop side' and her right side (without tattoos) her 'Marylin Monroe side'.
During the second leg of The Monster Ball Tour in Japan, she got a temporary tattoo while on her way to Japan, saying, "リトルモンスター" (Ritoru Monsutā), which means "Little Monster".
Treble Clef
Lady Gaga got a small treble clef inked on her lower middle back. She got this tattoo when she was only 17 years old (some time in 2003) and used a fake ID because she was underage. Lady Gaga later added a large flower tattoo beside it but instead of covering the music note.
In an interview, Lady Gaga revealed that when she got this tattoo, she was very scared of her parents as they were not so great fan of body tattos. She said:
- "When I got my first one, they like had a freakin’ heart attack! I had a heart attack because I felt bad for not telling them I was gonna it. We’re really close. So I went home and I started crying and I was like I really love it, I’m really sorry."
Peace symbol (☮)
Some time in 2006, Lady Gaga got a peace symbol (☮) inked on her left wrist. This tattoo was inspired by the late English musician John Lennon.
On November 23rd, 2008, Lady Gaga told radio host JoJo Wright that the meaning of this tattoo is in the details, not necessarily the tribute.
“ | You will notice that if you’re looking at it, it’s upside down, but for me it’s right side up. The reason I had it put upside down is because I wanted it to be a reminder to me that, even though I write fun music about sequins and panties and fame and money, I make sure to always keep in mind the important things. | ” |
Daisies
Lady Gaga got daisies inked on her left shoulder.
Roses
In March 2008, Lady Gaga got roses inked on her left side by Kat Von D continuing to the back to blend into her treble clef.
Rainer Maria Rilke's quote
The tattoo is a curling German script on her left arm which quotes the poet Rainer Maria Rilke with the lines:
- "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?"
Lady Gaga described Rilke as her "favorite philosopher", commenting that his "philosophy of solitude" spoke to her. The quote is from the 1st letter of "Letters to a Young Poet" written on February 17th, 1903.
- "Prüfen Sie, ob er in der tiefsten Stelle Ihres
Herzens seine Wurzeln ausstreckt, gestehen
Sie sich ein, ob Sie sterben müßten, wenn es Ihnen
versagt würde zu schreiben. Muß ich schreiben?"
Lady Gaga also got "12/18/1974" inked on her left arm which means the date when her aunt Joanne Germanotta passed away at the age of 19. Lady Gaga went to Three Tides Tattoo in Osaka, Japan on August 6th, 2009.
Tokyo Love
In August 2009, Lady Gaga got words "Tokyo Love" inked handwritten by Nobuyoshi Araki near Lady Gaga's daisies tattoo on her left shoulder in Tokyo, Japan.
Little Monsters
- Related article: Little Monsters
On the night of February 1st to February 2nd, 2010, Lady Gaga got words "Little Monsters" inked below the Rainer Maria Rilke's quote in honor of her fans. The tattoo was made at Shamrock Social Club tattoo parlor in West Hollywood, California. On February 2nd, 2010, Lady Gaga posted a photo of a tattoo on her Twitter account alongside a description: "look what i did last night. little monsters forever, on the arm that holds my mic. xx" and "chola tattoo from shamrock, so proud."
Dad
In October, 2009, Lady Gaga got the word “dad” inside of a heart inked on the outer corner of her left shoulder as a tribute to her father Joe Germanotta, after convincing him to undergo open-heart surgery despite his protests. The tattoo session was recorded for the "Tattoo Film" and shown during the Monster Ball: Theater in 2009 - 2010.
Born This Way Unicorn
The tattoo on Lady Gaga's upper left thigh, which was done by "Bad News Becca" (Rebecca Roach) on September 6th, 2010 at North Star Tattoo, is an image of a unicorn with the words "Born This Way" wrapped around the horn. In May, 2010, Lady Gaga mentioned on SHOWstudio that the unicorn was her favorite mythical creature. The tattoo is a commemoration of her second studio album, Born This Way. She kept it covered during her The Monster Ball Tour concert in Washington, but finally exposed it on September 13th, 2010 while at LAX airport.
According to a Rolling Stone interview, Lady Gaga originally had planned to get the tattoo on New Years Eve, and upload a picture of it onto her Twitter, divulging the name of the second album.
On a Big Top 40 radio show in the UK, Lady Gaga stated:
- "I had My Little Ponies. I was obsessed with the idea of a creature that was born with something magical that sort of made them the misfit in the world of the stallion. I’m actually quite obsessed with unicorns. They are in essence a mythical creature. The unicorn is born magical and it’s not the unicorn’s fault and it doesn’t make it any more or less special or any less unique but it can’t help that it was born with that magic."
ARTPOP
On August 3rd, 2012, Lady Gaga updated her Little Monsters account publishing a photo of a new tattoo that reads "ARTPOP" on the left arm with description "New ink new album". The same day, in a Little Monsters chat, Lady Gaga confirmed that "ARTPOP" would be the name of her new album. The tattoo is in the font "Georgia" at a size 18.
Anchor
On September 1st, 2012, Lady Gaga got an anchor inked on the left side of her body, above the roses by artist Henk Schiffmacher. The same day, Lady Gaga posted the photo of tattoo on her Little Monsters account alongside a description: "New Tat. Stamp of His Mermaid."
Cherub
On September 13th, 2012, Lady Gaga got a cherub head inked on the back side of her freshly-shaved head by tattoo artist Mark Mahoney. A cherub head was taken from F. S. Meyer, Handbook of Ornament (New York: The Bruno Hessling Company, 1917) on page 108. The tattoo was made as a part of Lady Gaga's performance during the FAME Fragrance launch event at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Frederic Aspiras shaved the back of Lady Gaga's head before Mark Mahoney took over for a period of 2 hours with the Haus of Gaga team taking pictures with Gaga's iPad.
R†O
On November 10th, 2012, Lady Gaga got a "R†O" inked on the back side of her head near the cherub head tattoo. The same day, Lady Gaga revealed on her Little Monsters account that: "the font was derived out of the signatures of three fans, all from different neighborhoods and ages. Represents how music brings us 2gether." After showing off the tattoo, Lady Gaga tweeted: "R†O. Monsters, all over the world you continue to inspire me everyday, your like an endless ocean of possibilities."
Mouse
On August 9th, 2013, Lady Gaga got a cartoon mouse holding a sewing needle and thread inked on the back of her arm above the elbow. It represents her sister Natali, who's nickname is "Mouse". The needle and thread represent her passion for fashion design, and the end of the thread reads "Nat".
Trumpet
On June 18th, 2014, Lady Gaga got a trumpet inked on the top inside of her right bicep by "Bad News Becca" (Rebecca Roach) at Northstar Tattoo Parlor in New York City. Tony Bennett sketched the trumpet.
Paws Up/Monster Claw
On the night of October 2nd to October 3rd, 2014, Lady Gaga got her left hand in "Paws up", on her left side back at Deer's Eye Studio in Stockholm, Sweden. The tattoo was made by Eric Gonzalez.
On February 28th, 2016, Lady Gaga posted a photo of this tattoo on her Instagram account thanking her fans for their support:
- "I never realized before but I put the tattoo of my fans "monster paw" the symbol of our fan base right over my heart. It's not easy to perform this song, but I know you will have my heart in your hands holding me up like you have for almost a decade. Thank you for being the pillars that hold up my roof, everything i stand for is in you. #littlemonsters"
Mother Monster
On the night of November 18th to November 19th, 2014, Lady Gaga got a "Mother Monster" tattoo inked with a paisley design sprawling across the left side of her rib cage and extending up to her armpit in honor of the five-year anniversary of her album The Fame Monster. The tattoo was made by Eric Gonzalez at Deer's Eye Studio in Manchester, UK.
David Bowie
On February 13th, 2016, Lady Gaga got David Bowie's portrait (a month after his passing) inked between the rib and left hip. She shared videos of the tattoo session on her Snapchat story. "This was the image that changed my life," she shared on Snapchat, referring to Bowie's Aladdin Sane album cover.
Sexual abuse survivor symbol
On March 2nd, 2016, Lady Gaga got a matching tattoo to survivors in the TIHTY Oscars performance. She wanted to get it on the day of the performance which took place on February 28th, 2016, but she did not have time. So she got this tattoo couple days later at Pioneer Tattoo Studio in Chicago.
One of the 50 sexual-assault survivors from Lady Gaga's performance at the 88th Academy Awards — California-based illustrator Jacqueline Lin — wrote on her website that Lady Gaga made a pact with everyone that she would get a tattoo in honor of their message. Later, she added what is called the "Fire Rose Unity" symbol to Lady Gaga's left shoulder.
Jacqueline Lin, who designed the tattoo, wrote on her website the meaning behind the unique symbol:
- "The tattoo was made for, and dedicated to, survivors. It is a unity symbol inspired by the loops of our DNA structure and our universal infinity sign. It combines inspiration from Lady Gaga's favorite flower, the white rose, to breathe life into an organic and growing symbol. The final image embraces a fiery shape to give us power and strength everywhere we go."
Joanne
After releasing her fifth studio album "Joanne" (October 21st, 2016), Lady Gaga got her aunt's "Joanne" signature permanently inked on her left forearm on October 24th, 2016.
Haus
On December 20th, 2016, Lady Gaga got a tattoo of the word "Haus" to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the Haus of Gaga on her left arm above her Mouse tattoo.
La Vie en Rose
On February 14th, 2019, Lady Gaga got giant back tattoo in honor of A Star Is Born from artist Winter Stone. The tattoo features a rose sprawling up her spine with the words "La Vie en Rose". The words reference French singer Édith Piaf's song of the same name. Lady Gaga, as her character Ally, sang "La Vie en Rose" in a drag dive bar before meeting Bradley Cooper's character, Jackson Maine, for the first time in A Star Is Born (2018) movie.
G A G A notes
On February 14th, 2019, Lady Gaga also got a matching tattoo with her manager Bobby Campbell. The musical staff with the notes in "G" and "A" to spell out her stage name G A G A on her right arm. Originally the staff had four lines instead of the correct five. Later Gaga posted an updated version of the music-note tattoo that added the fifth staff line.