frida kahlo was a Mexican artist who became famous for her self-portraits that were strongly influenced by her Mexican culture Frida was born near Mexico City on July 6 1907 and grew up with her parents and six sisters at age six Frida contracted a disease called polio which damaged her right leg and meant she couldn't leave her bed for nine months so instead of playing with her sisters she spent most of her time alone despite her childhood love of drawing Frida Kahlo didn't always want to be an artist she wanted to become a doctor but in 1925 she was in a terrible bus accident the meant she was unable to walk for three months and she began to paint from her hospital bed painting helped her pass the time and to express the pain that she was feeling Frida wanted to know if she was talented enough to become a professional painter so she approached artist Diego Rivera for an opinion on her work the two artists eventually got married in 1929 they both continued to paint and became very successful artists in 1931 Diego was asked to paint a mural in San Francisco so Frida and Diego moved to America they lived there for three years Diego wanted to stay but Frida was very homesick and unhappy so they soon moved back to live in Mexico her unhappiness in her life in America can be seen in her paintings Frida Kahlo is most famous for her many self-portraits she used her art to express her emotions in various moments of her life and to reflect the lifelong pain she felt after her accident she was very proud of her Mexican heritage and this is also shown in her paintings which featured bright colors dramatic symbols and traditional Mexican clothing Frida Kahlo died in 1954 when she was 47 years old she is remembered as a strong woman who used her art to overcome her circumstances and to accomplish great things despite her struggles and she inspires artists to this day to express their emotions through their art you