What was Frida Kahlo’s profession before she became known as an artist?

Before becoming known as an artist, Frida Kahlo was a medical student.

In 1922, Kahlo entered the prestigious National Preparatory School in Mexico City. She was one of the relatively small number of female students there and initially planned to study medicine. Her interest in anatomy later remained visible in paintings that depict bones, organs, injury, childbirth, and medical treatment.

A serious bus accident in 1925 left Kahlo with lifelong injuries and forced her to spend long periods recovering in bed. During that recovery, she began painting more intensively, using a mirror mounted above her bed to make self-portraits.

Kahlo did not complete medical training. Her experience as a medical student nevertheless helped shape the unusually direct bodily imagery for which her paintings became famous.