Nancy Mace Gets More Tattoos and Isn't Going to Stop: 'I've Got Far More Than Nine, and I'm Not Done Yet'
On Capitol Hill on September 1, 2026, TMZ asked Rep. Nancy Mace about her tattoos and got a live count correction on camera: 'I've got far more than nine, and I'm not done yet.' She named two of the tattoos herself, a swallow and a heart reading 'mama,' said she has 'a huge list' of more planned, and is 'on the edge of maybe' going full-sleeve. Her one firm limit: 'nothing above the collarbone.' The number has climbed in public all year, from nine in a February Politico profile to 'more than nine' on NewsNation two days earlier to 'far more than nine' on TMZ.
"I've got far more than nine, and I'm not done yet. I've got to finish my half-sleeves."
Nancy Mace, Rep. (R-SC), to TMZ on Capitol Hill, September 1, 2026
Reporting credit: This exchange was reported and filmed by TMZ, "Rep. Nancy Mace Shows Off Tattoos, Says More Ink Is Coming", by TMZ Staff, September 1, 2026. All video and quotes below, unless otherwise noted, are from that TMZ interview on Capitol Hill.
Nancy Mace gets more tattoos, and she isn't going to stop. Stopped by a TMZ camera on Capitol Hill on September 1, 2026, a reporter opened with the number that has followed her all year: "You have nine tattoos." Mace corrected it on the spot: "I've got far more than nine, and I'm not done yet. I've got to finish my half-sleeves."
She didn't stop at the number. She pulled back her sleeve and named two of the tattoos herself:
"See, it's my swallow. Is that cool? I got mama."
Nancy Mace, to TMZ on Capitol Hill, September 1, 2026
A swallow, and a heart reading "mama," shown on camera and identified in her own words.
"I have a huge list"
Asked how she picks her artists, Mace laid out her standard: "I go to tattoo artists that tattoo other tattoo artists. You want the good one. That's how you know you're getting a good one."
On what's still coming, she didn't hedge:
"Oh, I have a huge list."
Nancy Mace, to TMZ on Capitol Hill, September 1, 2026
The half-sleeves are unfinished, by her own account, and full sleeves are on the table:
"I want the option. I've thought about it. I'm on the edge of maybe going there, but I also like being able to cover up and not have any. That's a nice option."
Nancy Mace, to TMZ on Capitol Hill, September 1, 2026
The one line she won't cross
Mace does draw a limit, and it isn't about how many more she gets. It's about where:
"No, definitely not. Come on. No neck tattoos either. Nothing above the collarbone."
Nancy Mace, to TMZ on Capitol Hill, September 1, 2026
She made the stop for TMZ carrying her new puppy, Millie, whom she said she got because she is "an empty nester and single."
The number has been climbing in public all year
TMZ's September 1 correction didn't come out of nowhere. Mace has been revising her own tattoo count upward, in public, for months:
- February 27, 2026: In a Politico Magazine profile, Mace said she had nine tattoos, gotten "in rapid succession" during her time in Congress (Maceopedia's writeup). That is where the "nine" figure came from.
- August 30, 2026: Two days before the TMZ stop, on NewsNation Live, Mace pushed the number past what had been reported: "I have a few tattoos. I might have more than nine, as what's been publicly reported." On the same appearance, she framed the ink itself as "the beauty of the First Amendment and free speech."
- September 1, 2026: On Capitol Hill, TMZ got the biggest jump yet: "far more than nine," with a "huge list" still to go and half-sleeves unfinished.
Nine, to "more than nine," to "far more than nine," in the space of about six months, each figure delivered on camera in her own words.
Watch the segment
The original TMZ interview is below. It is footage from Capitol Hill on September 1, 2026.
Video: TMZ, "Rep. Nancy Mace Shows Off Tattoos, Says More Ink Is Coming", Capitol Hill, September 1, 2026. Published by TMZ Staff.
Every tattoo she has named, shown, or had reported on is tracked, element by element, at the Maceopedia tattoos hub.
Sources & related coverage:
- TMZ (primary): "Rep. Nancy Mace Shows Off Tattoos, Says More Ink Is Coming", TMZ Staff, September 1, 2026. Video: "Nancy Mace Talks Getting Tattoos and New Puppy"
- NewsNation: "Nancy Mace says tattoos reflect free speech values, not criticism of Trump", NewsNation Live, August 30, 2026. See also Maceopedia's full writeup: Mace, on NewsNation: her tattoos are 'free speech,' and 'I might have more than nine'
- Politico Magazine, February 27, 2026 profile: the reporting that first documented the nine tattoos. See Maceopedia's writeup: Nine Tattoos: 'The Pain I Need to Feel'.
- See also: Nancy Mace · Nancy Mace's Tattoos: The Full Catalog
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