The real-life Mexican artist who appears as a skeleton in the Land of the Dead is Frida Kahlo.
Coco includes Frida Kahlo as a recognizable historical figure among the dead inhabitants. She is depicted with a skeletonized appearance that matches the film’s visual style while retaining identifying details associated with her public image, including her distinctive clothing and brows. Her appearance places a famous Mexican artist inside the film’s celebration of national culture and remembrance.
Kahlo was born in 1907 in Coyoacán, Mexico City, and became internationally known for deeply personal paintings exploring identity, pain, the body, and Mexican heritage. Her work often included self-portraits and symbolic imagery. She was married to muralist Diego Rivera, who is also one of the wrong-answer choices, but Rivera is not the artist intended by this question.
A common mix-up is to treat every famous Mexican painter as a possible answer. Coco’s cameo specifically points to Kahlo, whose image and artistic legacy are especially recognizable worldwide.