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As a self-professed tattoo fan (without any myself), I will be the first to admit, with tattoos, it’s often hit or miss. Tattoos tend to have an awful reputation due to the terrible-yet-memorable examples that end up on various Tumblrs and meme sites. However, a good tattoo, to me, is a unique form of self-expression that only enhances a person’s individuality. Here are five stars that I think got it right:

 

 

1.  Megan Fox

On her upper right back (see above), Fox has a paraphrased quote from Shakespeare’s famous tragedy King Lear. While Fox’s many tattoos are well known, I can’t help but love a tribute to English Literature. When read in context of the play, I also appreciate it’s meaning. Here is the full passage in which King Lear is speaking to his daughter Cordelia (which the part in Megan's tat highlighted):

 

“No, no, no, no! Come, let's away to prison.
We two alone will sing like birds i' th' cage. When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down
 And ask of thee forgiveness. So we'll live,
 And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
 At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues
 Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too - 
Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out - 
And take upon 's the mystery of things,
 As if we were God's spies; and we'll wear out,
 In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones
 That ebb and flow by th' moon.”

 

 

2.  Angelina Jolie

 

 

Jolie has several tattoos that I like, but none more so than the geographical coordinates of the birthplaces of her children and partner, Brad Pitt. It’s a unique and more intimate way of remembering loved ones over a name or a portrait. Inked on her bicep is:

 

N11° 33' 00" E104° 51' 00": the location in Cambodia where Maddox was born.

N09° 02' 00" E038° 45' 00": the location in Ethiopia where Zahara was born.

S22° 40' 26" E014° 31' 40": the location in Namibia where Angelina gave birth to Shiloh.

N10° 46' 00" E106° 41' 40": the location in Vietnam where Angelina's son Pax was born.

N43° 41' 21" E07° 14' 28": the location in France where twins Knox and Vivienne were born (x2).

 

Lastly, it is said that Angelina also added the coordinates of Brad's birthplace in Oklahoma.

 

 

3.  Adam Levine

 

 

We all remember Adam’s shoot for Cosmopolitan UK in the buff, where he bared all in nothing but ink. Complete with a sleeve and various other tattoos all done in black and white, many of his tats pay homage to Maroon 5. “222” is the number on the door of the very first studio Maroon 5 ever recorded in. He also has an “X” commemorating Maroon 5’s 10-year anniversary. However, favorite of them all, of course, has to be the eagle on his ribcage.

 

 

4.  Leighton Meester

 

 

Leighton is not nearly as uptight as her on-screen character, Blair Waldorf, on "Gossip Girl". This down-to-earth knockout sports a colorful flower on her wrist that is said to have been designed by a friend. Classy!

 

 

5.  Gisele Bunchden

 

 

As a supermodel, I’m sure tattoos can’t take focus over fashion on the runway. Since I’m a firm believer in "less is more", I can’t help but love the crescent moon and two stars etched on Bunchden’s right ankle. Gisele also has one other stellar tattoo -- a small star on the inside of her left wrist.

 

 

What are some of your favorite Hollywood tattoos?

 

 

- Halee Bernard, YH Staff