Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907, as Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon. Three years after Kahlo's birth the Mexican Revolution began. This was a major event in Mexican history as well as an influence on much of Kahlo's art. She was a surrealist painter which means that she expressed her deepest feelings and thoughts through her paintings. The public viewed her as a high spirited yet rebellious woman who liked to paint what she knew. Her daily life was reflected into most if not all of her paintings, and she used her painting as an escape to express her emotions. Her unique style has made her one of the most famous Mexican artists of her time. .
At age 6, Frida was diagnosed with polio, which made her right leg much thinner than her left, and it remained that way for the rest of her life. When Frida entered high school she was the ringleader of a rebellious group that consisted mostly of boys that continually caused trouble in the National Preparatory School. They enjoyed doing pranks (mostly on professors). It was also at the National Preparatory School that she first came in saw her future husband Diego Rivera, who was being paid to paint a mural in the school's auditorium. .
She went through the rest of her childhood as a student who never had any intentions of becoming an artist. She wanted to attend medical school and become a doctor. But on September 17,1925, at the age of 18, that all changed. A tragic bus accident occurred in Mexico City. Many people were seriously injured in the accident including Frida Kahlo. Her body was impaled by the hand rail from the trolley which gave her several internal injuries. Her boyfriend, whose last name was Gomez, was also involved in the accident. Seeing that Frida was more hurt than he was he screamed for the .
doctors to come and check on her. Reluctantly they medics came to them. They believed that Kahlo would not even survive the trip to the hospital.