Where Was Frida Kahlo Born?

Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907, in Coyoacán, Mexico. She was the third child of Matilde Calderón y González and Guillermo Kahlo. Her father was a German immigrant who ran a successful photography studio. Kahlo had two older sisters, Matilde and Adriana; two younger sisters, Cristina and Margarita; and her only brother, Guillermo Jr. Kahlo contracted polio as a child; although she eventually recovered from the disease, it left her right leg permanently weakened and she began wearing metal braces to help straighten it. Kahlo was the youngest of three children born to Guillermo Kahlo and Matilde Calderón. She had two half-sisters from her father’s first marriage, Eva and Maria Luisa. Kahlo was home-schooled by her mother until she was eight years old, after which she attended the prestigious San Francisco de Asis School for Girls. In 1922, Kahlo was involved in a bus accident that left her with serious injuries, including a broken spine, collarbone, and ribs, and a shattered pelvis. She spent several months in the hospital recovering from her injuries, during which time she began to paint. Many of Kahlo’s paintings featured self-portraits and dealt with themes of identity, pain, and death.