Frida Kahlo: The Woman Who Painted Her Pain (and Became a Legend)

Celebrating Women's History Month with a badass a day.

Let me tell you about Frida Kahlo. Not the sanitized, coffee-mug version of her, but the real Frida—the one who turned her pain into art, her heartbreak into beauty, and her life into a revolution.

Frida was born in 1907 in Coyoacán, Mexico, and from the start, her life was anything but ordinary. At six, she contracted polio, which left her with a limp. At 18, she was in a horrific bus accident that shattered her spine, pelvis, and ribs. She spent months in bed, immobilized and in agony. But here’s the thing about Frida: she didn’t let her pain define her. She let it fuel her.

During her recovery, Frida started painting. She propped a mirror above her bed and began creating self-portraits—raw, honest, and unflinching. “I paint myself because I am so often alone,” she said, “and because I am the subject I know best.” And oh, did she know herself. Her art wasn’t just about capturing her image; it was about exploring her identity, her pain, and her passion.

Frida’s work is instantly recogni…