Frida Kahlo, born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón, was a renowned Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Her work often explored themes of identity, postcolonialism, gender, class, and race in Mexican society.

Born to a German father and a mestiza mother of Purépecha descent, she spent most of her life in La Casa Azul, now the Frida Kahlo Museum. Despite being disabled by polio as a child, Frida was a promising student before a bus accident caused her lifelong pain and medical problems. This incident redirected her focus to art.

Through her art and politics, she met and married fellow Mexican artist Diego Rivera in 1929. Her paintings, characterized by their vibrant colors and elements of Mexican folk culture, garnered international attention, including a solo exhibition in New York in 1938. Kahlo's first solo exhibition in Mexico was held shortly before her death in 1954 at the age of 47.

Rediscovered in the late 1970s, her work is now celebrated worldwide and she is recognized as an icon for Chicanos, the feminist movement, and the LGBTQ+ community. Her legacy is emblematic of Mexican national and Indigenous traditions.