Salma Hayek on her near-fatal battle against Covid-19: I told my doctor I would rather die at home

Salma Hayek got infected with Covid-19 at the beginning of the pandemic, and she had been private about her diagnosis and her battle against the virus until yesterday.

The renowned actress decided to candidly open up about that complicated period to Variety magazine.

2020 was mostly a recovering year for Salma Hayek after her near-fatal Covid -19 battle. Although she did not reveal at that time she had been infected, Hayek posted on social media last November a funny video montage showing her getting tested for the coronavirus several times. And in an interview with Variety, published on Thursday May 20, the Mexican-American star finally spoke about this period during which she was in a critical condition, as she battled a very severe case of COVID-19. After her infection, the actress, 54, remained in quarantine for about seven weeks in one room of her room, away from her husband and their 13-year-old daughter, fighting the virus, which could have caused her death.

"My doctor begged me to go to the hospital because it was so bad" said the actress. I said: "No, thank you. I’d rather die at home". The Frida star, who is set to play Ajak in upcoming Marvel and Chloé Zhao's next film, Eternals, was then confined with her husband, French billionaire and luxury group Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault, and their teenage daughter Valentina, in their London mansion. Finding herself in critical condition, she was put on oxygen at home in order to best fight the virus, as she refused to go to the hospital. Speaking of her role in Eternals, Hayek revealed that “It never crossed my mind to be in a Marvel movie,” she said. “I guess that I thought that boat had sailed, and it was an absolute shock. All of a sudden, I got a call: ‘They want to talk to you about a new franchise.’ And I was like, ‘What?’ And I said OK, but they don’t tell you any information until you’re on the call. It’s kind of hard to be an action hero if you’re Mexican. It’s really hard to be an action hero if you’re a Mexican and a woman.”

A difficult recovery still

Salma Hayek still has not fully regained the energy she had before, and still suffers side effects from COVID-19. Nonetheless, she returned to filming last month. The actress will star in Ridley Scott's next film, House of Gucci, a movie starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver. She is expected to play a clairvoyant convicted of helping Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) who plotted the murder of her ex-husband, Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver). The 54-year-old actress revealed she is grateful that her filming schedule for the project was light, given how much more easily she gets fatigued these days. "It was not a lot of time. It was easy. It was the perfect job to just get back into it," she said. "I had started doing Zooms at one point, but I could only do so many because I would get so tired." Fatigue is one of the most common lingering symptoms of COVID-19.

At the same time, she is also gradually resuming her activities and plans with her husband. On May 22, the couple is set to inaugurate the Paris Bourse de Commerce to host their private art collection: the Pinault Collection. In the meantime, the actress has been seen there during preview visits, in particular with Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of the French capital.