Teacher covers 85% of body in radical "living memoir" tattoos

Lakewood, California - Retired school teacher Elizabeth Beauvais may no longer be working, but her remarkable career is commemorated in the more than $150,000-worth of tattoo tributes that cover her body.

Elizabeth Beauvais used her many tattoos as a way to document and commemorate the life that she has lived over the last 65 years. (Stock Image) © Unsplash/Mor Shani

Having now retired from teaching, Elizabeth Beauvais' body is a tribute to the career she'd had, documenting her many triumphs, trials, and tribulations.

She began collecting tattoos at only 31 years old, and over the course of the next three decades, she eventually covered more than 85% of her skin in colorful designs and drawings.

Each tattoo is an insight into part of her life, a memory sketched into her body, whether it be about events in her life, her time as a teacher, or her family.

"Believe it or not, I have no regrets about my tattoos because they all have a meaning and a history to them," she said, per the Daily Star.

"Some of them are not as well done as others, but I'm okay with that because the bonding with the person is fine with me."

Beauvais' first inking was a small flower she had done on her right shoulder, and her latest is a gorgeous Garibaldi fish on her thigh.

Despite the beauty of her inkings, she has not been without her critics, with some trolling her for her unique look.

Tattooed teacher responds to the critics

"People look and stare, and they're horrified," she explained. "One lady said, 'You are horrifying!'"

Even more than 30 years into her tattoo transformation, Beauvais is not done with her mission. She wants to continue telling the many stories of her life via the ink that's etched into her skin.

"I wanted to tell the story of my life, my trials and tribulations, on my body," she said. "I'm very, very excited."