After working for Mickey Mouse, people don’t stay squeaky-clean forever. These former stars now have tattoos of all shapes and sizes. They've embraced a new image after their Disney Channel days.
In some cases, celebrities get tattooed just for fun. In other cases, tattoos may be bad choices that point to some deeper issues. The curse of the child star is real! Early success can lead very young stars down a strange pathway into adulthood.
"We love young kids when they’re little and on TV but this weird thing happens where we feel uncomfortable about them growing up," explains psychologist Dr. Linda Papadopoulos to The Sun. She says that for child stars, growing up can hurt. "When that fame begins to fade away, it's very hard and you see that as a rejection of who you are. You can’t ever go back to being normal because you always have that notoriety."
Whether tattoos are a former child star’s way of staying relevant (we’re looking at you, Orlando Brown) or celebrating success (read on to see what Selena Gomez’s latest ink means!) the effect is basically the same...tattooed ex-Disney stars are just plain fun to look at! See them below:
17 Joe Jonas’ Arm Portraits
If you know what you’re looking for, you’ll be able to see a few special portraits on Joe Jonas’ right arm these days. The first is a framed depiction of his grandfather, whom he calls, "PaPa Miller," according to a caption on his IG. The second is a small and simple line drawing of a woman. This tattoo is meant to represent his wife, Sophie Turner. So much love on that arm!
16 Vanessa Hudgens’ New Angel Tattoo
On March 5, 2020, Vanessa posted this provocative shot to her IG, with the caption: "Divine feminine angel. Not me.... my tat. But you can call me that, if you want to 😉 #thirstythursday @drag_ink." Ok, sis! This is her second tat of the year – the 31-year-old actress got a tiny sunflower on her other side back in January.
15 Bella Thorne’s Hidden Kitten
The little grey kitten behind Bella’s ear isn’t her only feline tattoo. Girl’s got a cat nose and whiskers inked on her right pointer finger and the worlds “Wild” and “Kitty” tattooed on the back of her calves. This particular cat tat was done by LA-based tattoo artist, Dr. Woo, who shared it to his own socials with the caption: "Littlest kitten chillin on the low @bellathorne."
14 Hayden Panettiere’s Misspelled Mistake
It could happen to anyone! Hayden wanted a tattoo reading, 'vivere senza rimpianti', which is Italian for, 'live without regrets'. As Metro reports, her artist accidentally added an 'i' to the last word, making it "rimipianti." That makes it meaningless!
Hayden admitted her mistake with some advice: "If you’re going to get a tattoo in a language, just don’t ever go to that country, or a country where anyone speaks that language."
13 Brenda Song’s Rose and Bee
These tattoos cover a lot of Brenda’s arm, and we can’t help wondering if her heavily inked ex had something to do with them. The former London from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody had an on-and-off (including TWO engagements) long-term relationship with Miley’s edgy older brother, Trace Cyrus. Brenda has seven tattoos total, but still has a long way to go to compete with that dude.
12 Shia LaBeouf’s Surprising Leg Tats
If you can’t tell what these blobs on Shia’s thighs are meant to be, you’re not alone. He explained his knee ink on The Ellen Degeneres Show. Apparently, those are tattoo portraits of musical icons Prince, Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, and Missy Elliot. The particularly round shape is Missy in her famous inflated garbage bag look. You do you, Shia!
11 David Henrie’s Unreadable Arm Script
David had 15 minutes of fame as Selena Gomez’s character’s brother (Justin Russo) on Wizards of Waverly Place. Since the show wrapped, he’s grown up and gotten the tattoos to prove it. The biggest piece on David is this chunk of script on his tricep. DesignPress.com reports that it’s a passage from the Bible, specifically Romans 2:12. It’s so hard to read that you’ll have to take their word for it.
10 Dove Cameron’s Finger Snake
If her socials are anything to go by, Dove Cameron is all grown up. She’s posting provocative pics on the regular, including see-through shirt shots (see link below) that made major news last year. Add edgy tattoos to the list of adult things about Dove. This snake tat is one of several on Dove’s hands and wrists, alongside a sun...and a gun with a rose in its barrel.
9 Mitchel Musso’s Chest Pieces
These tattoos are different from most of Mitchel’s. They stand out for featuring illustrations instead of just script. The former Hannah Montana star has "Sam M. Unsurpassed" on his left shoulder, as a tribute to his dad, and "MMM" on his left wrist, to represent his name and the names of his brothers. The designs on his chest are a crown on one side, and a thorny rose that is inked around his mother’s name on the other side.
8 Ashley Tisdale’s Foot Tat
This French-language foot tattoo translates to, "Never Alone." It showed the truth the day it was done, cause Ashley got this tattoo the at same time and place that her friend Vanessa Hudgens got an Ohm symbol tattooed on both hands.
The High School Musical castmates visited this Hollywood tattoo studio for minimalist tattoos together. 10 years after the HSM franchise hit Disney, their friendship is still going strong.
7 Selena Gomez’s ‘Rare’ Neck Tattoo
Who would have guessed that the actress who got her start on Barney & Friends and Wizards of Waverly Place would end up with not one but THREE different neck tattoos? Well, she did. This tat is the most recent one she’s had inked onto her neck, after the initial "J" and the number 76. The word "Rare" is to commemorate her latest album of the same name. So cool.
6 Emily Osment’s Little Love
Miley’s TV bestie from Hannah Montana actually has a few tattoos these days, but they’re all pretty minimalistic. This line-drawn "Love" is the biggest by far. Her other tats include an arrow on the inside edge of her finger and a tiny line-drawn sun shape on her left arm. Sunshine, love and an arrow seem like a sweet collection for this ex-Disney kid.
5 Hilary Duff’s Mom Tats
The former Lizzie McGuire has more tattoos than you might expect. According to Refinery29, along with her kids’ names (Luca and Banks) Hilary has more than 15 tattoos. She keeps them small and mostly hidden, though.
"Part of me loves tattoos, but part of me doesn’t want the full commitment of getting to see them all the time," she explained to Ellen DeGeneres. Let them out, Hilary! They’re super-cute.
4 Orlando Brown’s Insane Raven Symoné Tattoo
This is an awkward one. Orlando Brown has been in and out of jail since leaving That’s So Raven and his bad choices have clearly extended to his body art. What kind of person tattoos their former costar’s face onto their chest? According to Raven Symoné, she and Orlando don’t even talk anymore! Even weirder, it’s a picture of her face from before he’d ever met her! ORLANDO, WHY?
3 Demi Lovato’s Massive Lion
Demi got this tattoo from Bang Bang, the same artist who’s given her most of her 20+ tats. Bang Bang doesn’t only tattoo lions, but coincidentally, he’s also inked the big cats onto celebs like Justin Bieber and Cara Delevingne. When he shared this pic to IG, his caption honored his friendship with Demi: "sometimes the canvas makes the art ;) Thank you for your trust."
2 Zac Efron’s Feathered Bicep
If anyone can pull off a random feather tattoo, it’s Zac Efron. To put it more specifically: if anyone’s bicep can pull it off, it’s Zac Efron’s bicep. There is very little Zac Efron could possibly do to make his bicep unattractive, no? This feather tat has been around for a few years now and Zac hasn’t spoken about what it represents, but we don’t mind. Looks great.
1 Miley Cyrus’ Entire Collection
Name any body part. Chances are, Miley Cyrus has it tattooed. Standouts from her tattoo collection include portraits of her pets, the planet Saturn, half an avocado, a skeleton with a crown, a jar of Vegemite, and a little handwritten note from Yoko Ono that reads, "I’m proud of U." Miley even has the bottoms of her feet tattooed with the words "ROLLING STONE." She truly can’t be tamed.
Sources: Inked.com, Tattoodo.com, WomensHealthMag.com, BodyArtGuru.com, UsMagazine.com, Metro.co.uk, VanityFair.com, DesignPress.com, Refinery29.com, Seventeen.com, DailyMail.co.uk, Instagram.com