“Shark Lady”: fear of sharks turned into a world record for an American woman

Childhood horror after watching “Jaws” decades later turned into 106 tattoos and an official title from the Guinness Book of Records — this is how a woman captured her entire life dedicated to sharks

Biologist Emily Morrison from Maine officially became the holder of the world record: the largest number of shark tattoos on a female body — 106. The result was recorded at the end of May, writes xrust, and the record holder herself is known in on social networks under the nickname “Shark Lady Emily”.

The story began not with love, but with fear. At the age of eight, the girl watched the movie “Jaws” and was terrified of sharks. The father helped turn the situation around: he suggested that his daughter figure out the topic herself and read about sharks in the library. Instead of horror, interest came, and then a profession — today Morrison runs a company that organizes diving tours to places where shark fossils are found.

The first tattoo was a white shark on the lower back — a symbolic reference to the very picture that once frightened the future biologist. Then the designs appeared on the legs, arms and shoulders. Now the body is decorated with images of 71 species of sharks, as well as 13 fossilized and one fresh shark tooth — trophies from her expeditions. She calls colored tattoos on her legs her favorites.

Morrison has real-life field experience under her belt: she has fed tiger sharks and giant hammerheads in the Bahamas, cage dived with white sharks off the coast of Australia and swam with whale sharks in Mexico. She doesn’t plan to stop: the goal is to fill in representatives of all 58 families of sharks, with seven left to complete the set.

The record brought fame not only in scientific circles: Morrison was invited to a special episode of the Discovery Channel show “My Strange Shark Addiction” as part of the annual Shark Week, starting on July 26.

Sources:

• https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/777321-most-sharks-tattooed-on-the-body-female
• https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2026/07/24/Guinness-World-Records-shark-tattoos/6641784906928/
• https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2026/7/shark-obsessed-biologist-breaks-record-after-tattooing-tribute-to-each-creature-she-meets

Xrust “Shark Lady”: fear of sharks turned into a world record for an American woman