DR. WOO

The making of a celebrity tattoo artist is difficult to trace. They are not always more talented or visionary than their peers, or more aggressive in their pursuit of the spotlight. The shift to fame can happen seemingly overnight: One day they are toiling away in someone else’s studio, the next day musicians and actors are lining up to be inked by them. So it was for Dr. Woo. Now in his 40s, the LA-based artist’s work first exploded in popularity in 2016, and today his celebrity clients include Frank Ocean, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Kid Cudi, Miley Cyrus and Zoë Kravitz. 

Some aspects of Woo’s lore are exaggerated: The story that he called himself Dr. Woo to please an overbearing parent is something he let run because it’s “funny.” (In reality, he says, his parents are j...