Megan Fox is not show when it comes to displaying her incredible collection of body ink.

For years while working as an actress and model in Hollywood, Megan Fox’s collection of tattoos has always been a topic of conversation. Megan has a variety of tattoos, some visible and some not visible.

Megan has been quoted passionately describing her love of tattoos, and considers them an art form. “Calligraphy tattoo is a form of art and it’s one of the oldest forms of art. I find them beautiful so I’m going to keep doing it,” she has said.

In the late 2000s at the height of her Transformers career, Megan would receive backlash for her visible body ink, and to that she said, “If I ever lose a [film] role because of my tattoos, I’ll quit Hollywood and go to work at Costco.”

Megan has an assortment of quotes designed in delicate calligraphy, as well as symbols and passages from literature. Spirituality is very important to Megan, and most of her tattoos have a story behind them. From Chinese symbols, to quotes from philosophers, to lovers’ names, here’s what the star has inked on her body.

8. Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’

One of Megan’s most recognizable tattoos is located on her back left shoulder. Megan has inked “We will all laugh at gilded butterflies” in Victorian Gothic font. This tattoo is a hybrid quote by both Megan and William Shakespeare.

The exact line from King Lear is “and laugh/ At gilded butterflies.” This tattoo can be interpreted in a few ways. Gilded (another word for gold) butterflies implies a butterfly that can’t fly but is still beautiful as it is adorned in gold.

It also refers to an object that looks beautiful and rich, but on the inside isn’t what it portrays itself to be. On the inside it is flawed and damaged. This tattoo conveys the idea of a beautiful object being caged and or punished.
7. Yin and Yang Symbol
The inside of Megan’s left wrist has the yin and yang symbol in thick black design. This ancient Chinese symbol expresses two complementary forces that balance life. Yin symbolizes Earth, femininity, and darkness while yang symbolizes masculinity, lightness, and heaven. The yin and yang philosophy is supposed to express two opposing entities that in fact compliment each other.

6. Friedrich Nietzsche

Megan recently appeared alongside BFF Kourtney Kardashian for a SKIMS advertisement campaign that fully displayed her Nietzsche tattoo. The tattoo is a quote from the German philosopher/poet/composer/cultural critic.

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music,” is located on her lower back and rib in black italic letters. This tattoo probably holds more significance now that she’s dating her rocker beau Machine Gun Kelly.

5. Marilyn Monroe

One of Megan’s earliest tattoos was a portrait of Marilyn Monroe, which was located on the inside of her right arm. Megan got the tattoo when she was 18 years old because she idolized Marilyn.

However, shortly after 2011 she had this tattoo removed. Marie Claire reported that Megan told Italian magazine Amica the reason for the removal: “I’m removing it. She was a negative person, she was disturbed, bipolar. I do not want to attract this kind of negative energy in my life.”

4. More Nietzsche Quotes

Another Nietzsche quote is inked on Megan’s left ribcage. This tattoo is from a poem that reads, “There once was a little girl who never knew love until a boy broke her HEART.” Megan was inspired by her relationship with co-star Mickey Rourke when she got this particular tattoo.

The two starred in Passion Play together in 2011. Megan spoke to MTV News about her relationship with Mickey Rourke, and more about this tattoo’s significance. Fox said at the Toronto International Film Festival, where she was promoting Passion Play.

 “Even though I was in love with [husband] Brian [Austin Green], it turned into that I was secretly in love with Mickey Rourke and got a tattoo to release the angst.

I have a tattoo that is a Nietzsche quote that sort of basically is about marching to the beat of your own drummer and not being afraid to do that. I was saying that it reminds me of Mickey, of course, because he clearly is not marching to anyone else’s drummer, drumbeat, and that’s all. It’s not necessarily an homage to him.”

3. “El Pistolero”

The 2020 American Music Awards was one of the first red carpert apperances for MegAn and MGK. Megan showed off a new tattoo located on her front collarbone. The tattoo “el pistolero” means “gunfighter” in Spanish.

2. Brian Austin Green

Before dating MGK, Megan was infamously linked to 90210 actor Brian Austin Green for over a decade. Megan and Brian officially started dating in 2004, and were an on-again off-again couple until 2020. Megan and Brian also share three children together.

Megan clearly is a woman who loves tattoos, and it seems appropriate she would pay tribute to Brian in some way. Photos from The Daily Mail show Brian’s name on her pelvic hip. It’s unclear if she has plans to remove or keep this tattoo now that they are officially divorced.

1. Crescent Moon And Star

One of Megan’s oldest tattoos, and her only tattoo that uses colors, is a design of a crescent moon and star on the inside of her right ankle. Megan has been open about her passion for astrology, so this tattoo pays tribute to universal spirits and energies.