Credit:
Jason Odell (photographer),
Alison Prato (writer),
Evan Klanfer (photographer),
Steve Shaw (photographer),
Stephen Stickler (photographer),
JC Dhien (photographer)
From Terminator 3 and the L Word to steamy PDAs with rock star Pink and actress Michelle Rodriguez, Kristanna Loken, the gorgeous star of the upcoming National Lampoon's The Legend of Awesomest Maximus and Janjaweed, proves she is, and always will be, a woman on top
INKED: You have eight tattoos. Which was your first?
KRISTANNA LOKEN: The cherub my right big toe. I don't know what I was thinking because I have size 11 feet! But now I have a few on my feet-I've embraced the largeness of them.
And your second?
It's a personal crest on my shoulder, inspired by various voodoo symbols. Each symbol represents a part of myself, and together it makes up who I am.
Wait, voodoo?
It's a very interesting, spiritual, amazing religion. The only reason voodoo got a bad rap is because when slaves were brought over, they were practicing it, and they would put hexes on their owners.
Okay, so talk us through the rest.
I have a star on my left wrist and a moon on my right wrist. I got those at a shop on Sunset Boulevard. My girlfriends were waiting for me across the street at the Saddle Ranch bar, and I walked in with my wrists wrapped up-it looked like I just tried to kill myself. The next one was on my ankle, which I got after I did T3. When I'm done with a job, I like to change something about myself-cut my hair or change the color or get a tattoo or a piercing.
The one on your ankle is a horse running. What does that signify?
Lightness and freedom. The one on my lower back started as a bear paw-the Native American symbol for strength-and then I added a globe to it. I've studied spirituality and Buddhism a great deal, and when I was on a silent retreat in South Africa, I saw a beautiful Jesus embracing Buddha, and they were cradling the world. I thought, I want that globe. Then I added angel wings, which I have to admit I copied off an Ed Hardy sweater. I also have the word "Aniccia," which means change or impermanence in Pali, hanging around my right foot like an anklet. My final one is my husband's initials in Pali on my ring finger.
So are you really finished, or will you get more?
I don't know if I can say I'm done. My mother would love me to be done. She would've loved me to be done before I even began.
You starred on the L Word. Did that help you be more open about your own sexuality and bisexuality?
I really enjoyed being a part of that show because it showed same-sex relationships in a semi-normal atmosphere. Being open about who you are and who you choose to love is vital for our generation. My sister is a lesbian and she's always taught me that you can love whomever you choose. When you're bisexual, you're not one or the other, so you kind of get discredited by both [straight and gay communities] but I've gotten letters from girls who've said, "Thanks so much for telling me how you feel. Now I feel normal." And that's great.
Did it annoy you when the press went crazy over pictures of you kissing Pink and "canoodling" with Michelle Rodriguez?
It doesn't bother me because to me it's a non-event. People make a hell of a lot more out if it than how I feel. Those things just kind of happened-they were part of my life. People can respond whichever way they want to. People will either love what I do or not. It doesn't really affect me.