Salma Hayek is opening up about her secret battle with coronavirus for the first time.
After initially choosing to keep it private, the 54-year-old has disclosed she contracted the novel virus during the start of the pandemic last year in a new interview with Variety.
Hayek’s condition got so dire that, at one point, she believed she might not pull through.
“My doctor begged me to go to the hospital because it was so bad,” the “Frida” star told the outlet. “I said, ‘No, thank you. I’d rather die at home.’”
The actress remained isolated for 7 weeks at her London home, where she stayed in a bedroom away from her husband, Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault, and their 13-year-old daughter, Valentina.
Her condition deteriorated to the point she had to be placed on oxygen. While she ultimately recovered, Hayek has yet to fully regain the energy she once had.
Despite not being 100%, the Oscar-nominated actress returned to work for a role in the upcoming Lady Gaga film “House of Gucci.”
"It was easy. It was the perfect job to just get back into it. I had started doing Zooms at one point, but I could only do so many because I would get so tired," she added.
Hayek will next be seen in “The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard,” alongside Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, and Marvel’s “Eternals,” which also features Angelina Jolie and Kit Harington. Both were shot prior to the pandemic.
With a busy career and her health back on track, Hayek is now focusing on enjoying life.
“I want to enjoy my teenager, my amazing husband, my animals. I feel great now, so I don’t want to complain about things,” she told Variety.
“I spent a long time complaining, and I don’t want to engage in things like, this should be this way or that way. I want to make people laugh.”
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