Salma Hayek is a bottomless well of incredible stories. Most recently, the 53-year-old actress revealed that she was injured by a spider monkey while filming Frida, the biggest movie of her career, in 2002. Salma candidly shares the wild story with Vogue in a video released on Friday, January 10 in honor of Like A Boss hitting theaters everywhere. She says the ape co-star attacked her onset, leaving her body “severely injured,” but her spirit as brave as ever!
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© GettyImagesA photo of Salma and Tyson the monkey appeared in a spread of her 13 most iconic looks. “This next one is 2002 when I did Frida and this was in Vogue and I was very proud to be part of Vogue for the first time in my life,” she says in the reflective video. Although her and the monkey look stunning together, it seems they had a tumultuous history.
“This monkey, who was named Tyson, actually attacked me during the filming of Frida and I was really severely injured,” Salma said. “But I was brave enough to let him come back and work again in the movie and then I still did a photoshoot with him for Vogue afterward.” With her sassy cadence, she offered one last quirky quip on the subject: “I was really hoping he wouldn’t go for my face.” It all worked out for Salma, as the biopic earned her a “Best Actress” Oscar nomination in 2003.
The real life Frida Kahlo had two pet spider monkeys, one a gift from her husband Diego Rivera. Salma has her own share of less-traditional pets, rescuing close to 50 animals. She most recently welcomed an owl into the fold, taking to social media to share a hoot of a video!
