For many, a tattoo is a lifetime commitment. Getting an image permanently etched into your skin is a massive commitment — unless you have the money (and pain tolerance) to erase it later, that is. For these 13 celebrities, getting their tattoos removed was a way to reshape their lives or revitalize their careers, and in some cases, reinvent their entire persona.
Pharrell Williams Removed His Tattoos With Skin Grafting—Not Lasers
At 20, Pharrell Williams covered himself in tattoos, including angel faces he later admitted were “badly drawn.” Years later, the 51-year-old producer looked at that ink and thought, what was I doing? “I was just young and dumb,” he said. Instead of laser sessions, he chose skin grafting, transplanting fresh skin over the old designs. Painful? Probably.
Khloé Kardashian Erased Her Lower-Back Tattoo With Laser Removal
Khloé Kardashian once rocked a lower-back cross as a tribute to her dad. She even joked, “You don’t put a bumper sticker on a Bentley.” Kim tried to warn her. Didn’t work. A few sessions with Dr. Ourian and Nurse Jamie later and poof. Tattoo gone.
Mark Wahlberg Removed His Tattoos So His Kids Wouldn’t Copy Him
Mark Wahlberg once flexed Bob Marley on one arm and his own name on the other. He said “all the tattoos have meaning to me,” then zapped them away so his kids wouldn’t copy. Also: makeup chairs are boring. He joked to Post Malone removing ink “is gonna be painful.”
Kelly Osbourne Removed 15 Tattoos to Reinvent Her Image
Ozzy’s daughter had at least 15 tattoos removed. While the tattoos themselves were a way to honor her parents, Osbourne alleges she got them for the wrong reasons, as her objective was to upset her mom and dad. She grew out of that phase, however, and removed her rebellious tattoos to reinvent herself.
Rumer Willis Removed a Tattoo That Hurt Her Acting Career
No one likes bad tattoos, and that holds especially true for casting directors. Rumer Willis, Bruce Willis’s eldest daughter, underwent laser removal for a lion tattoo on her arm, which she admitted was hurting her acting opportunities.
Heidi Klum Removed Seal Tattoo After Their Divorce
Model Heidi Klum had her husband’s name, Seal, tattooed on her right forearm, leaving it on display in any of her photo shoots. She removed the eye-catching tattoo in 2014m following her divorce.
Eva Longoria Removed Tattoos Linked to Ex Tony Parker
The Desperate Housewives star spent some time removing multiple tattoos that featured her ex, Tony Parker’s, name and initials. She’s now virtually tattoo-free.
Melanie Griffith Erased Antonio Banderas Tattoo After Split
Griffith married Antonio Banderas in 1996. The couple spent almost two decades together, but they separated in 2015, prompting Griffith to remove the heart tattoo with Antonio’s name on it that she had on her right arm.
Pamela Anderson Removed Her Iconic “Barbed Wire” Tattoo
Anderson got her iconic “barbed wire” tattoo on her left arm for the movie Barb Wire. However, in 2014, the actress removed the tattoo, claiming it was now an “eyesore” on her body.
Megan Fox Removed Marilyn Monroe Tattoo Over “Negative Energy”
Fox is no stranger to ink, having well over a dozen tattoos on her body and recently debuting some intricate full-sleeve artwork. However, in 2011, she removed one of the most prominent pieces of her collection: a portrait of Marilyn Monroe located on the inside of her right forearm. She says she doesn’t want to be associated with the “negative energy” that comes with Monroe’s life and struggles.
Angelina Jolie Covered Billy Bob Thornton Tattoo With Meaningful Ink
In one of the most creative tattoo removal solutions Hollywood has ever seen, Jolie covered the name of her ex-husband, Billy Bob Thornton, with a table listing the birth coordinates of her children.
Colin Farrell Removed Tattoos to Save Time in Makeup Chairs
Previously covered in tattoos, Farrell has recently parted ways with most of his ink. In his own words, removing the etchings was a way to buy him “an extra 45 minutes sleep in the morning,” as he frequently had to get his tattoos covered up for most roles.
Pete Davidson Is Removing 200 Tattoos to Boost His Acting Career
Removing a bad tattoo is one thing, but try removing around 200 of them. That’s what Pete Davidson is currently going through, as the comedian pursues more serious acting roles that have been severely limited by his numerous tattoos.
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