Mexico-born tattoo artist Kat Von D (born Katherine Von Drachenberg) first attained national recognition in her mid-twenties, via her participation in the TLC network's reality series Miami Ink. The program observed the goings-on at the 305 Ink tattoo shop in Miami Beach, FL, run by Chris Nuñez and Ami James, which employs such tattooists as Darren Brass and Chris Garver. Von D joined the program in 2005 and remained with it for two seasons, but she reportedly left thanks to interpersonal differences with the other participants. In 2007, shortly after Von D's departure from Miami, the TLC network announced the launch of her own series, LA Ink, in fall 2007 -- a program quite similar in structure and content that unfolds at the High Voltage Tattoo shop in Los Angeles.
A woman of German, Spanish, and Italian descent (whose parents hailed from Argentina), Von D grew up in the Colton, CA, area. After discovering a great passion and talent for tattoo artistry, she worked at such parlors as Pasadena's Blue Bird Tattoo and True Tattoo (on Cahuenga Blvd. in L.A.).