Few things are as permanent as a tattoo. Perhaps this is why so many people choose to get tattoos that symbolize their heritage, or that are done in honor of another family member. How many of you know someone who has a tattoo of the names of his or her children forever etched into their skin? There are a lot of celebrities who have tattoos that are symbolic connections to members of their family.
There have been a lot of stories online that talk about the giant tattoo that Monta Ellis recently had placed upon his body. Monta Ellis is a guard for the Golden State Warriors, which is an American professional basketball team, based in Oakland, California.
This particular tattoo is not his first one. A quick look at any of the photos that show his new tattoo reveals that Monta Ellis has “full sleeves” on both of his arms. His new tattoo is noteworthy however, for two reasons. It appears to be what could be called a family tree, of sorts, and it is a gigantic tattoo. The tree branches cover his chest and there appears to portraits of an infant, and two other figures, stuck in the branches. The trunk goes down the middle of his chest to slightly below his navel. Across the top, the words “Family First” appear in cursive script.
It is no longer considered unusual for a famous people to have a lot of tattoos. Angelina Jolie was in the news recently in regards to her new tattoo. After much speculation, it was revealed that her newest tattoo was inspired by her husband, Brad Pitt. The tattoo has latitude and longitude coordinates that correspond to where he was born, (Shawnee, Oklahoma).
The actress also has six other tattoos that are latitude and longitude coordinates. Each one connects to the birthplace of one of her children. She also has a tattoo that is a Buddhist Thai prayer for protection, written out in Sanskrit. This tattoo relates to her adopted son, Maddox, who was born in Cambodia.
Johnny Depp also has some tattoos that have meaningful connections to his family. On his upper right arm, there is an image of a Cherokee Indian Chief, wearing a feathered headdress. The tattoo represents his ancestral heritage. He also has a tattoo of a heart, that is surrounded by some tribal looking stylized flourishes. Inside the heart is the name Betty Sue, which is the name of Johnny Depp’s mother.
Over the top of the same heart tattoo is the name “Lilly-Rose”. This is the name of his daughter. Johnny Depp played the character Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Captain Jack Sparrow had a few tattoos of his own (that were done cosmetically, for the movie). One of these tattoos is of a sparrow. After the movie was done filming, Johnny Depp had the sparrow tattoo altered slightly, and then made permanent. It is in honor of his son, who is named Jack.
Image by Drew Olanoff on Flickr