Salma Hayek is revealing publicly for the first time that she dealt with a near-fatal bout of COVID-19 near the start of the pandemic last year. Variety reports Hayek spent seven weeks in an isolated room in her London home and even had to be put on oxygen at one point.
“My doctor begged me to go to the hospital because it was so bad,” said Hayek told Variety. “I said, ‘No, thank you. I’d rather die at home.’”
Hayek, 54, told Variety that she hasn't yet regained the energy she had before contracting the disease caused by the new coronavirus. But that did not stop her from getting back on the set last month to film the crime drama "House of Gucci," set for release around Thanksgiving.
Before that, Hayek has some big releases coming up as moviegoers return to theaters. She'll star with Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson in the action comedy "Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard."
She'll also play Ajak in "Eternals," one of the newest releases in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which brings an unusual twist to the the character. Ajak was a man in the comics.
Hayek said she was as surprised as anyone that she was tapped for the role.
"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. But to be an action hero, being Mexican, a woman, and my age, it felt like they were punking me," she said.