Nora Hildebrandt

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Nora Hildebrandt
Hildebrandt, Nora 2.jpg
Birth Date 1857
Birth Place London
Death Date 1893
Occupation tattooed lady
Website none


Nora Hildebrandt, (sometimes recorded as "Hilderbrandt") was the first tattooed lady to appear in the United States. She was born around 1857 in London and moved to New York with her father.[1] She made her debut at Bunnell's Museum in New York City in March 1, 1882. Nora was tattooed by her father Martin Hildebrandt and told a tale onstage similar to those used by tattooed men like Constantine. Nora claimed that her father tattooed her while they were held captive by Sitting Bull, at the chief's command. Within weeks of her debut, another tattooed lady came onto the scene, Irene Woodward. Woodward quickly eclipsed Hildebrandt. She toured with Barnum and Bailey Circus during the 1890s. She married a barber named Jacob Gunther in 1889 and died four years later, in 1983.