Stephanie Ozanne has had a tattoo in memory of Michael Jackson. She also has his brother, Tito Jackson's signature tattooed over where he signed it.

A LOCAL Michael Jackson fan has had a memorial tattoo to mark the life of her musical icon.

Stephanie Ozanne, 21, a trust administrator at HSBC, has had the self-styled King of Pop’s birth and death dates as well as his initials tattooed on her back. They sit above an existing tattoo of his eyes, which she had done when she was 16.

‘I had it done on my back because it is the place I would have wanted him to sign if I had ever met him. I would have had his signature tattooed over,’ said Miss Ozanne, who has Jackson’s brother, Tito’s, signature tattooed there.

She said that getting the memorial tattoo was equally important, as each is unique and tells a story.

‘Michael Jackson was and still is a huge part of my life that I always want to be reminded of as I am very proud to be a fan of his and will continue to be,’ she said.

Her tribute comes ahead of Jackson’s funeral today in Los Angeles.

A public memorial service is also being staged at the 20,000-seater Staples Centre in LA – the arena where he was rehearsing two days before his death on Thursday 25 June.

Out of the 1.6m. fans who registered for tickets for the event, 8,750 were selected at random to attend the service.

Tens of thousands more are expected to gather outside the centre and on the streets leading to the arena.

A private funeral will follow the ceremony and it is likely Jackson will be buried at Forest Lawn, in the Hollywood hills.

Miss Ozanne never imagined she would be getting a memorial tattoo for her idol so soon, but said it was her way of ‘celebrating his remarkable life’.