Ryann Maegen Hoven, known as Tess Holliday and also as Tess Munster, is an American plus-size model, blogger, and a make-up artist. An inspiration to women all around the world and a motivator, Tess is very fond of tattoos and has many of them all over her body. Tess’ tattoos tell her story and are there to motivate her and her followers. Let us look at the ones she has and the meanings behind them.
Neck Tattoos
1. ‘Bat’ Tattoo
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Tattoo: The left side of her neck, just behind her ear, contains a tattoo of a silhouette of a bat.
Right Arm Tattoos
2. Women Tattoo
Tattoo: The right shoulder and upper arm of the model contain two portraits of women tattooed on it.
Meaning: The one on the outer side is a portrait of a young Dolly Parton, one of her idols. The one on the inner side is of Divine, also known as Harris Glenn Milstead. Tess revealed on her Instagram how she was insecure about the way her arms looked and then she got motivational tattoos of all her idols and favorite characters on her right arm which helped her gain confidence.
3. ‘Miss Piggy’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper side of her right forearm contains a tattoo of Miss Piggy from the Muppets.
Meaning: Miss. Piggy was one of her favorites as a child, which is why Tess got her tattooed on her arm.
4. Portrait Tattoo
Tattoo: The inner side of her right forearm contains another portrait of a woman tattooed on it.
Meaning: Tess got this tattoo of Mae West as she is one of her idols.
While talking about her arm tattoos on Instagram, Tess wrote, “I talk about this in my book, but my arms have always been the one part of me I struggled to love, that’s why I started getting tattooed. @nikkohurtado has been tattooing me for almost 9 years & his art has played a big role in helping me be able to ditch covering my arms everyday & to show them off. People still talk shit about how big my arms are & make jokes, but jokes on them because I’m a gahhhdamn walking piece of art. Every day, I I get to look at my tattoos, see my heroes & feel like a million bucks 🖤💪🏻🥰”
5. Flower Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper part of her right forearm, in between the portrait of Mae West and Miss Piggy, contains a tattoo of a flower.
Left Arm Tattoos
6. Girl and Scissor Tattoo
Tattoo: The left shoulder of the model contains a tattoo of a girl on a blue background. There is also a scissor tattooed just below the girl, cutting a chain of shapes circling around the face of the girl.
7. ‘Rose’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a tattoo of a red rose flower, just below the tattoo of the scissors, on her left arm.
8. ‘Heart and Mirror’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The lower part of her left forearm comprises tattoos of all the things Tess loves. There is a heart made from a looped rope, tattooed on her left forearm, just below her elbow and a hand-held mirror tattooed on the upper side, near her wrist. If you look closely, you will also find a tattoo of the number 9 and three quarters on the side of her left forearm.
Meaning: Tess is a huge fan of the Harry Potter series and showed her love of the magical world by getting a tattoo of the number, “9 and three quarters” which is the platform number of the train that leaves for Hogwarts from King’s Cross Station.
9. ‘Diamonds and Flower’ Tattoos
Tattoo: Tess’ left forearm contains little stars tattooed here and there to cover the empty spaces between her tattoos. Her left forearm also contains tattoos of four diamonds on it. There is also a flower along with long leaves and vine tattooed on the side of her left wrist.
10. ‘Lipstick’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The inner side of her left forearm contains a large tattoo of a Chanel lipstick on it. There is also a tattoo of crossbones behind the lipstick. The rest of the empty spaces on her sleeve are completed by little tattoos of dots and stars.
11. ‘Spiderweb and Rose’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The inner side of her wrist contains a tattoo of a rose flower on it dedicated to herself. There is a banner over the rose with the word, “PRETTY” tattooed inside it. There is also a tattoo of a spiderweb at two places on the inner side fo her left forearm.
Right Leg Tattoos
12. ‘Girl and Swan’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a tattoo of a girl, wearing a tiara and a banner with the words, “MOUNT ROSE” written on it on the front of her right thigh. The girl is also sitting on the back of a Swan. There are also little hearts and stars tattooed around both of them.
13. ‘Mermaid’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The right side of her right thigh contains a large tattoo of a mermaid, wearing a bikini of seashells, surrounded by flowers and seaweeds. There are also two little merman kids, one on either side of her tail.
14. ‘Woman’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The front side of her right lower leg contains a large tattoo of a woman in leopard skin bikini. There is also a panther tattooed in front of her legs and a purple flower tattooed on the inner side of her leg.
15. ‘Praying Hands’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The outer side of her right lower leg contains a tattoo of two hands joined in prayer. There are also lightning bolts tattooed above the hands and a daisy tattooed below them to complete the design.
Meaning: This tattoo represents her faith and her religious views.
16. ‘Kitty, Spiderweb, and Kid’ Tattoos
Tattoo: The side of her leg contains a tattoo of the cartoon, Hello Kitty. There is a small spiderweb tattooed below the kitty and a kid wearing a costume near the kitty tattoo, just above her ankle.
Meaning: Hello Kitty was one of her favorite characters as a child, which is the reason Tess got the tattoo on her body.
17. ‘Pineapple’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The inner side of her lower left leg contains a tattoo of a pineapple with a face on it.
18. ‘Paw’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Tess right calf contains a tattoo of a banner on it that reads, “PAW”. There is also a tattoo of a cowboy hat and boots below the banner, and the whole design is encased inside an outline made of a rope.
Meaning: This is one tattoo very close to her heart as she got it as a tribute to her grandfather after he died. She used to call her grandfather, “Paw”. This tattoo has another one to match on her other calf as you will soon find out.
19. ‘Sad Clown’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Below her paw tattoo is another one of a clown’s face in the shape of a heart, who is crying.
Meaning: Tess got this tattoo as a tribute to Tina.
While showcasing her tattoo on Instagram, she wrote, “For those of you who’ve read my book, you know all about my godmom Tina, and how much she influenced who I am today. Her trailer was filled with sad faced clowns that she collected & the Pillsbury doughboy 😂 This tattoo is for you Tina, I miss you so much. (pictured holding my oldest son Rylee) Thank you @umbrellaface for giving me such a beautiful piece to honor such a beautiful, filthy woman 😂🤡💕”
Left Leg Tattoos
20. ‘Heart and Face’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The side of her left thigh contains an unfinished tattoo of a heart along with a few faces tattooed inside it.
21. ‘Girl and Flower’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The front side of her lower leg contains a tattoo of a large pin-up girl, posing in between tattoos of flowers. There is also a crescent moon tattooed on the inner side of her left leg.
22. ‘Hoops’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The outer side of her left lower leg, just below her knee, contains a tattoo of her favorite pair of earrings that are in the shape of hearts. The tattoo is surrounded by little stars and dots.
Meaning: Tess got this tattoo because this is her favorite jewelry.
She posted the tattoo on Instagram with the caption, “Got my fav hoops tattooed on me bc that’s the energy I’m channeling for the rest of 2019”
23. ‘Baby’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The side of her left lower leg contains a tattoo of a baby with golden hair surrounded by the words, “NOBODY PUTS BABY IN A CORNER”. There are also two flowers tattooed below the baby.
Meaning: This is another one of her motivational tattoos. The line, “NOBODY PUTS BABY IN A CORNER” means, “Nobody should force a talented person to not take part in an activity by using their talent.”
24. ‘Thistles’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a tattoo of thistles below the tattoo of the baby on the side of her left leg.
25. ‘Maw’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Tess’ left calf, to compliment her right one contains a tattoo of a flying sunbird, a box of chocolates and a diamond on it. The tattoo is surrounded by clouds and a banner over a flower below the whole design that contains the word, “MAW” written on it.
Meaning: The Maw tattoo, just like her paw tattoo on her other leg, is a tribute to her grandmother whom she used to address as “Maw.”
26. ‘Cherubin’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a tattoo of a Cherubin, running and crying while holding a bunch of flowers, just below Tess’ maw tattoo on the backside of her left ankle.
27. ‘Quote and Girl’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The inner side of the model’s left lower leg contains a tattoo of the quote that reads, “I’VE BURNED BRIDGES BIGGER THAN YOU…” Below the quote is a tattoo of the face of a girl, wearing a rose flower in her hair. Below the girl is a tattoo of a heart on flames, surrounded by two purple daisy flowers. There is a scenery of a bridge tattooed inside the heart.
Meaning: Tess got this tattoo as an inspiration to herself and her fans to let go of toxic people and relationships.
28. ‘Hearts’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The backside of both her legs contains tattoos of hearts on it. The one on her left leg contains the words, “Just look” tattooed inside it. Whereas the one on her right leg contains the words, “Don’t touch” inside it. Both the hearts are made out of barbed wires.
Meaning: The words together make the words, “Just Look, Don’t Touch” which is a tease.
Foot Tattoo
29. ‘Boy’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper side of her left foot contains a tattoo of a boy on it in front of purple clouds. There is also a rose flower along with leaves tattooed below the boy.
Meaning: Tess got this tattoo of the boy to represent her alter ego, Tess Munster.