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Kat Von D Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 29, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth8 March 1982

Age41 Years

BirthplaceMontemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico

ProfessionTattoo artist, author, actress, singer, entrepreneur, model

NationalityAmerican

Marital statusMarried

SpouseRafael Reyes Aka Leafar Seyer

FamilySon: Leafar Von D Reyes

Kat Von D Biography

Katherine Von Drachenberg, known professionally as Kat Von D, is a Mexican-born American tattoo artist, author, musician, entrepreneur and television star.

Early life and background
Katherine von Drachenberg was born on March 8, 1982, in Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico. She moved to Southern California with her family as a young child and grew up in the Inland Empire, later living in Colton, California. Of mixed heritage—German, Italian, Spanish and Indigenous—she left formal schooling after seventh grade. Music and family influences shaped her early interests: she began piano lessons at six and embraced punk culture in adolescence, which helped define her aesthetic and led her to get her first tattoo at fourteen.

Career
Von Drachenberg began tattooing peers as a teenager and went professional at sixteen, taking a job at Sin City Tattoo in Los Angeles. By twenty-three she was working at True Tattoo in Hollywood. In April 2007 she opened her own shop, High Voltage Tattoo, in Hollywood, which became a focal point for her work and public profile. After more than 14 years operating the shop, she closed High Voltage Tattoo on December 1, 2021, when she relocated to Indiana.

Her television breakthrough came through reality programs centered on tattoo culture. She appeared on Miami Ink in 2007 and shortly thereafter starred in the spinoff LA Ink, which filmed at High Voltage Tattoo. LA Ink premiered in August 2007 and ran for four seasons through 2011. Earlier TV appearances include a 2004 appearance on Pimp My Ride; later credits listed include I Love Jenni in 2013 and a role in The Lincoln Lawyer in 2022.

Tattooing has been only one strand of a multi‑faceted creative career. Von Drachenberg founded the MusInk Tattoo Convention and Music Festival, published books collecting her tattoo art, and opened the Wonderland Gallery adjacent to her shop in 2010. Her first book, High Voltage Tattoo (January 2009), reached the New York Times best-seller list, and her follow-up, The Tattoo Chronicles (October 2010), also placed on a New York Times best-seller list.

Von Drachenberg has pursued music as well, contributing vocals and collaborations with several bands and projects. She sang the female part on a 2012 track by The 69 Eyes, featured on songs by Prayers, contributed to three tracks on IAMX’s 2018 album Alive In New Light, and released her own album, Love Made Me Do It, in 2021. In 2018 she also narrated the animal rights documentary Dominion.

Entrepreneurship and product lines
In 2008 von Drachenberg partnered with Sephora to launch a makeup line that later expanded into fragrances. She made a public shift in 2016 to position her products as entirely vegan. In 2011 she introduced clothing lines under KVD Los Angeles and Kat Von D Los Angeles, which expanded beyond North America. In 2020 she sold her cosmetics brand to Kendo Brands; the label subsequently became known as KVD Beauty.

Public profile
Von Drachenberg has been a visible figure in mainstream and alternative media. She has appeared on numerous magazine covers, led a successful tattoo studio, organized a tattoo and music festival, and used her platform to champion animal rights organizations including Farm Sanctuary and Project Chimps. In 2016 she received Farm Sanctuary’s Compassion in Action Award, and in 2018 she earned an Award of Excellence for Narration from the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards for her work on Dominion.

Personal life
Von Drachenberg has been married twice. Her first marriage, to fellow tattoo artist Oliver Peck, began in 2003 and ended in divorce in 2007. She married musician Rafael Reyes, also known as Leafar Seyer, on February 21, 2018. The couple welcomed a son, Leafar Von D Reyes, in December 2018. She has publicly identified as vegan and has credited sobriety since July 2007.

Latest updates
In September 2022 von Drachenberg published her first children’s book, Leafar and the Magical Treasure Chest. In the years prior she closed her longtime High Voltage Tattoo shop and relocated to Indiana, while her cosmetics business continued under new ownership and branding.

Von Drachenberg remains a prominent figure in tattoo culture, music and beauty, known for her distinct visual style and for building businesses and creative projects that span media and merchandise.
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Recent Work

Love Made Me Do It

Music album released by Kat Von D in 2021.

2021
Leafar and the Magical Treasure Chest

Children’s book published in September 2022.

2022
Narrator — Dominion

Narration for the 2018 animal rights documentary Dominion.

2018
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Career Highlights

  1. Opened High Voltage Tattoo in Hollywood (2007)
  2. Starred on LA Ink (2007–2011)
  3. Published High Voltage Tattoo (2009) and The Tattoo Chronicles (2010), both New York Times best-sellers
  4. Founded MusInk Tattoo Convention and Music Festival
  5. Launched and later sold a cosmetics line (KAT Von D Beauty → KVD Beauty)
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Kat Von D born?

8 March 1982

What is Kat Von D known for?

Tattoo artist, author, actress, singer, entrepreneur, model

What is Kat Von D’s marital status?

Married

Who is Kat Von D married to?

Rafael Reyes Aka Leafar Seyer