Norah Hildebrandt: America’s First Tattooed Lady

Norah Hildebrandt (1857-1893) was the daughter of America’s first tattoo artist, German-born Martin Hildebrandt. When he didn’t have soldiers and sailors to work on, he would decorate his daughter. By 1882, she was almost filled in, with a reported 365 tats covering her body, and she began to exhibit herself at Bunnell’s Museum. During the 1890s she toured with the Barnum and Bailey sideshow. She died sadly young in 1893, but by then there was competition from the second tattooed lady: Irene Woodward. 

To find out more about the variety artspast and present, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous.