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The Vanderpump Rules Cast's Tattoos: A Complete Breakdown (PHOTOS)
Movie quotes, meaningful tributes, bacon butt ink, and more: a comprehensive list of SURver body art.
It may be safe to say that tattoos are an essential part of Vanderpump Rules history. From cast members revealing their new ink (and, er, questionable decisions) on the show to detailing their complete body art breakdown like in the video of Lala Kent above, it's been a whirlwind of interesting designs over the years that have definitely caught our eye.
One thing's for sure: every SURver's choice of design had a meaning or a special story behind it, whether it was Scheana Shay's ode to her cats, Tom Schwartz's humble honoring of Lisa Vanderpump, or Ariana Madix's post-breakup Coachella ink.
A Look at the Vanderpump Rules Cast's Tattoos
Scroll down below to see a comprehensive list of tattoos for Lala, Scheana, Schwartz, Ariana, Tom Sandoval, James Kennedy, Katie Maloney, and Raquel Leviss, and relive some of those highlights from episodes past where tattoos became a storyline in themselves.
Charli Burnett
On October 17 2023, Charli hopped on her Instagram Stories to share a look at a tattoo she got while at fashion event. "Came for the clothes ... left with a tiny tat [thank you]," Charli wrote in the corner of the post, prompting us to look closely at what appeared to be an outline of a star figure with a straight line running through the center, courtesy of Mirai Tattoo Gallery.
Lala Kent's Tattoos
Lala has a lot of tattoos, as she details in the video above. Over the years, the Give Them Lala Beauty founder has gotten, well, "Give Them Lala" in white ink on her arm, a heart around her nipple, "Heathen" on the back of her left arm, an orca on the side of her rib cage, a palm tree on her ankle, plus "801" on her left shoulder, aka the zip code of her home town of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Lala also got a few special tributes on her body: her dog's name "Lilly" in cursive on the back of her right ankle and "DAD" in a heart on the back of her right arm to honor her father who passed away in 2018.
Lala explains in the video above her “first tattoo ever,” which were the initials of her ex on the inside of her right arm. The California mom ultimately wasn’t satisfied with the positioning of the letters (“The ‘E’ was so crooked”) and ended up opting for a lion tattoo to cover it up.
Moreover, Lala went on to get a “Rand” tattoo on her upper arm in 2020, only to switch that one to “bRand New” after the split in 2021. That's what we call creative!
Just when we thought Lala was done, she inked the top of her hand with an "O," for her daughter Ocean's name during a friend's party in July 2023.
James Kennedy's Tattoos
Considering his bestie's proclivity to tons of body ink, we were surprised to find that James didn't have any tattoos of note in our deep dive.
That was until we peeped at what appeared to be a set of Roman numeral numbers on the inside of his right wrist, as you can see in the photo above. While we don't know about its significance, we're curious to discover the story behind it.
Raquel Leviss' Tattoos
We couldn't find any details of Raquel ever opting for some ink. Considering how all of her castmates have marked their bodies, however, perhaps the former beauty queen will be willing to try something out in the future?
Ariana Madix's Tattoos
As you can see in the above photo, Ariana's first tattoo came in 2013 when she visited artist Hi-Tone Valenz for some meaningful right forearm ink: "Per aspera ad astra," or, "Through hardships to the stars" (forearm tats are kind of a Vanderpump Rules thing — more on that later).
In addition to her arm, Ariana went on to get what she called a "now blobbish looking [black heart]" on the inside of her wrist during a spring break trip in Miami.
While the blonde beauty may opt to get that one removed, during the Coachella Music Festival in April 2023 she got another small tattoo at a very meaningful time — aka post-breakup from her boyfriend of over nine years, Sandoval.
The sandwich shop co-owner got the outline of a small alien head on the inside of her left arm as she lived her best life (and wore the best outfits).
Katie Maloney's Tattoos
Back in 2018, Katie decided to answer a few questions via Instagram's "Ask Me Anything" sticker, responding to a fan who inquired about her number of tattoos.
"I have 11 tattoos, most [are] on my right arm, that's where everything is," she replied, before remembering something. "Actually I have 12! I forgot one! My first one." Katie went on to answer another follower about her most "painful" ink, showing off a small flower and what appeared to be a symbol on the inside of her fingers.
In the above Instagram snap we were able to spot some black and red writing plus a small peace sign on the inside of her right arm as well as the leopard-print design she got on the outside of that arm back in 2015.
Perhaps Katie's most meaningful ink, however, is the "11-09-09" tattoo on her arm that remembers a difficult day from her past when she fell through a skylight 25 feet to the ground. The fall resulted in a broken jaw, broken collar bone, and a small brain injury, as Katie details in the below Instagram post from 2014.
"I was really proud [for] how far I've come to just accept myself again," she shared during the Season 6 reunion. "I could not be happier."
Tom Sandoval's Tattoos
Sandoval lived an ink-free existence for most of his life until one fateful boys' trip to Las Vegas during Season 4, Episode 9 when he and his BFF, Schwartz, got tributes to their then-girlfriends ... on their butts.
"Up until 4 a.m. I was going to live the rest of my life tattoo-free like I have up to this point," Sandoval shared in a confessional at the time. He then pulled down his pants in the hotel room to reveal a fiery red "A" on his right butt cheek to honor his then-girlfriend Ariana — a design that was later likened to a piece of sizzling bacon.
Later in the episode, the Schwartz & Sandy's partner went on to say that his tattoo "suck[ed]" and he was having "anxiety" about it. Unfortunately, Ariana wasn't privy to the design. "You're gonna need this for your laser treatments," she quipped during the episode while handing him some cash.
Schwartz noted he thought the tattoo was "funny" and a "good story," but Sandoval ultimately decided against it, going through his first round of ink removal in Season 4, Episode 17.
"God I want him to keep that ass tattoo," Schwartz quipped in a confessional. "That's like our thing, that's our story! I wanna be ass tattoo brothers, you know?"
"This is literally such a pain in the ass," Sandoval bemoaned while getting the ink removed. "It feels like a rubber band smacking on your skin ... but a machine gun."
At BravoCon 2023, it was revealed that Sandoval still has his infamous butt tattoo by his former flame, Ariana, while playing a fun game of Vanderpump Rules trivia during the "Stews vs. SUR" live interview.
Tom Schwartz's Tattoos
As for Schwartz's dedication to his then-girlfriend Katie, he explained during the episode his thought process behind his respective butt art.
"Katie was cool for letting me go on the Vegas trip ... in return, I felt like I had to do something to show my commitment to her," Tom shared in a confessional on the episode revealing why he opted to get "Bubba," the term of endearment between the then couple, on his right butt cheek. "What can I do that will last a little longer than flowers?"
Perhaps Schwartz's butt mark was a tad more elegant than Sandoval's, but he still seemed flustered in Vegas the next day following his and Sandoval's 4 a.m. decision to permanently mark their bodies.
And while Schwartz and Katie announced their divorce in March 2022 after tying the knot in 2016, Schwartz revealed on a February episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that the ink remains.
The "Bubba" tattoo remains intact as well as Schwartz's other butt cheek dedication: Lisa's initials, "LVP," that the Tom Tom partner got on his left cheek in 2021 after losing a bet with the restaurateur over a game of ping-pong.
“I’ve never not followed through on a bet in my life, and I feel like I don’t want to start now,” he said in Season 9, Episode 10 when they got to the tattoo parlor. “It’s good to feel the pain so I learn my lesson.”
At BravoCon, Katie confirmed that Schwartz is still sporting the "LVP" ink marking on him when Below Deck stews Daisy Kelliher, Fraser Olender, and Aesha Scott were asked, “Whose initials does Tom Schwartz have tattooed on his butt?"
In addition to his butt marks, we also spotted a dedication to loved ones on Schwartz's back left shoulder in a November Instagram video. The loved ones in question? Schwartz and Katie's adorable little dogs, Gordo and Butters, whom they lovingly co-parent after their March 2022 split.
Scheana Shay's Tattoos
Last but certainly not least is Scheana, whose pointing out her iconic 2013 right forearm tattoo, "It's all happening," has basically become a meme at this point.
Back in 2015, the brunette beauty spoke with BravoTV.com about the phrase's meaning in her life. "To begin, Almost Famous is my favorite movie of all time ever! Penny Lane is my spirit animal (and also the name of my cat)," she shared at the time. "In the movie, 'It's All Happening' is said numerous times. I got this tattoo shortly after getting engaged [to ex-husband Michael Shay] when I felt like everything in my life was all happening. It's my favorite tattoo out of the many that I have!"
Of course, a lot has all happened for Scheana since that interview, including several more tattoos of various sizes and meanings. Over the years we've clocked a hummingbird on her ankle and back of her ear, a treble clef on her wrist (with Vanderpump Rules alum Kristen Doute, courtesy of a "free tattoo booth" at an event in 2013), a tiny moon on her finger, a rose on her finger, a star and script plus "11:11" on her wrist, a blue flower on her lower abdomen, a "VII" on the back of her arm, and, speaking of her cats, Scheana honored her furry friend Penny as well as her other pet, Salem, with "P.S." on the back of her left calf in 2018.
Moreover, in 2020, Scheana tragically suffered a miscarriage before conceiving her daughter, Summer Moon, with husband Brock Davies, in 2021. Scheana decided to get a poppy flower design on her inner arm to pay tribute, having the ink done at Inflictions Body Art in L.A.
"The last one I got most recently was to symbolize the baby we just lost," she revealed in a YouTube video shared that summer. "[The doctors] said it was the size of a poppy seed, and I really like poppy flowers. And I decided to get one right here to remember." She added, "I think it’s probably my favorite one."
It was perhaps super fitting for the now-mom to also honor her daughter, Summer, with her own tattoo, getting the little girl's name scribbled on the inside of her left arm (as mentioned with Lala above) in July 2023.
The ladies shared a snap of the final result with Vanderpump Rules alum Brittany Cartwright, who also got a tattoo for her son, Cruz, whom she shares with Jax Taylor.
On August 2023, Scheana took to her Instagram Stories showing herself getting some new ink from Los Angeles tattoo artist Sweat Pea. In the video, Scheana sits as the artist carefully inks an outline of an apple on her right forearm.
As for the tattoo's significance, Scheana dropped a song called “Apples" with the band the 27s, aka Kevin Franklin and Landis Daniel, around the same time, and seemingly took on the apple ink to celebrate.
Originally published Aug 4, 2023.
