Angelina Jolie’s Tattoos and Their Meanings

Angelina Jolie is the queen of body art. OK, there are a lot of other stars who have more ink than the actor, but Jolie definitely knows her way around a tattoo parlor and isn’t afraid to get a bold design. In fact, she has so many tattoos that many of us have lost count. In early 2016, the total was up to about 17 designs for the “Eternals” star, and those are just the ones that fans know about (and can see). However, she recently added another piece to her collection and spoiler alert: the placement is super trendy.

On June 16, Jolie attended the 2024 Tony Awards wearing a strapless, velvet gown. On display was a tiny, fine-line design of a swallow. The piece, done in black ink, is super detailed while managing to retain the minimalist energy that Jolie’s ink is known for.

This is just the latest design that Jolie has added to her collection over the past few months, fresh on the heels of the unique artwork she got on the palms of her hands. On Aug. 22, 2023, Jolie’s artist, Mr. K from Bang Bang Tattoos, posted a picture commemorating the moments after completing the designs — one on each of her middle fingers. “@angelinajolie Still can’t believe that I actually grabbed her hand and tattooed her,” the caption read, alongside the blurred-out designs. They were later revealed to be two daggers.

Since Jolie loves her ink, we rounded up a handful of the tattoos she’s gotten over the years, as well as what they mean. As you scroll through this gallery, you’ll see that some of her body art has been done overseas — she has a soft spot for Cambodian and Thai-inspired designs — and many have deep, culturally-significant ties. A few are for her family, and others are mottos that Jolie chooses to live by. Read through to see what each of her designs mean and why she got them.