Frida Kahlo’s 7 Siblings Ranked Oldest To Youngest

Known for her unique painting style, bushy eyebrows, and somewhat disturbing subjects, Frida Kahlo is without a doubt one of the best Latin American artists of all time. Born to María Matilde Calderón González and Carl Wilhelm Guillermo, Frida grew up with her three sisters and only after childhood got the chance to get to know her two step-siblings.

Frida’s sisters had an enormous impact on her life and some of them even became the subject of some of her paintings. If you would like to know more about the life of Frida Kahlo’s siblings, this is the article for you!

8. María Luisa Kahlo Cardeña (September 9, 1894 – January 19, 1989)

María Luisa Kahlo Cardeña is Frida Kahlo’s oldest step-sister. She was born in September 1894 to her dad, Guillermo Kahlo, and her mother, Maria Cardeña Espiña. At the time of her birth, her mother was only 20 years old, while her father was 22.

Unfortunately, we don’t know much about María. The only information we managed to collect is that she married a Mexican man, known as Jose Jesus Escanes, in April 1917. The two never had children.

María lived an extremely long life and died in 1989 at the age of 94. She died in Mexico City, where she was born.

Did You Know?

Just like her dad, María got married when she was just 22.

7. Maria Kahlo Cardena (1896 – 1896)

Maria Kahlo Cardeno was Frida’s second oldest step-sister. Unfortunately, she died soon after birth.

6. Margarita Kahlo y Cardeña (October 5, 1897 – February 15, 1988)

Margarita Kahlo y Cardeña is the third and last daughter of Guillermo Kahlo, and Maria Cardeña Espiña. Unfortunately, while giving birth to Margarita, Maria lost her life.

A few days later, Guillermo asked Antonio Calderón for his daughter’s hand in marriage. This young girl was called Matilde and became Frida Kahlo’s mom. The two married six months after Guillermo proposed.

But back to Margarita, unfortunately, she and her step-sister did not grow up with Matilde’s daughters. In fact, María and Margarita were sent to be raised in a convent soon after their mother’s death. At the time, Maria was three years old, and her sister was only six months old. María and Margarita managed to build a relationship with their half-sisters only later in life.

Did You Know?

Margarita married Antonio Pinedo and had two children, Private and Antonio Pinedo. 

5. Matilde Kahlo Calderón (1899 – April 15, 1951)

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Matilde was Frida Kahlo’s oldest sister. She was born in 1899 in Mexico City. Her father was 28 on the day of her birth, while her mother, María Matilde Calderón González, was 25.

Matilde married Emilio Augusto Roberto Baumbach Grichte on the 27th of January 1917. The wedding took place in San Juan Bautista, Villa Coyoacán, Coyoacán, Mexico City. But it did not end well. Later in life Matilde remarried Francisco Hernández.

Did You Know?

Matilde died when she was pretty young, at the age of 52 years old, in the same city where she was born, Mexico City.

4. Adriana Kahlo Calderón (1902 – March 22, 1968)

Unfortunately, we do not know much about Adriana Kahlo Calderón. All the info we managed to collect is that she was the second daughter of María Matilde Calderón González and Carl Wilhelm “Guillermo”.

Did You Know?

Adriana married Alberto Ybar Veraza and died in her mid-sixties.

3. Wilhelm Kahlo y Calderón (1906 – 1906)

Wilhelm Kahlo y Calderón was María Matilde Calderón González and Carl Wilhelm Guillermo’s first and only son. Unfortunately, he died soon after birth.

2. Frida Kahlo (6 July, 1907 – 13 July, 1954)

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Frida Kahlo was born in Coyoacán, D.F. Mexico in 1907. Her passion for drawing started from a very early age when she got lessons from one of her father’s friends, Fernando Fernández. In 1925, Frida had to leave school to help her family financially and began working as a stenographer.

Later on, she also became an engraving apprentice for Fernández, who was extremely impressed by her talent.

When Frida was just 18, she got involved in an awful bus accident, after which she had to spend three whole months in bed. During this period, she got back to painting and started to consider a career as a medical illustrator to combine her love for drawing and science.

Later in life, Frida met Diego Rivera, who soon became her husband. The two moved together in Morelos, a state in South Central Mexico. Here she completely changed her painting style and started to get her inspiration from Mexican folk art.

In 1939, the couple decided to move to San Francisco where, for the first time, Frida’s paintings were exposed in an exhibition. The two then moved to Detroit, where Frida’s health quickly deteriorated due to a failed pregnancy.

In 1934, she returned to Mexico, where she briefly separated from her husband. However, eventually, the two got back together. During these years, Frida also traveled the world and went to both New York and Paris. 

Frida spent the last years of her life struggling with her illness. This talented artist passed away in 1954 due to pulmonary embolism, even though some people think her death must be attributed to suicide or overdose.

Did You Know?

Frida’s full name is Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón.

1. Cristina Kahlo (7 June 1908 – 8 February 1964)

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Cristina Kahlo was Frida’s youngest sibling as she was born in 1908. She is also the most famous one, as she became the subject of many of Frida’s and Diego’s paintings.

For instance, Frida portrayed her in her Portrait of Cristina, My Sister. She also makes a reference to her in her Mi Nodriza y yo (“My wet-nurse and I”).

The painting represents Frida being breastfed by a nurse. This is actually what happened in real life as, after the birth of Cristina, Frida’s mom no longer had enough milk to feed her.

Diego also portrayed Cristina in many of his paintings, sometimes, even in nudes. It’s not a mystery that the two had an affair and even Frida ended up noticing it. One of the most popular compositions by Diego, representing Cristina, is the mural The History of Mexico: The World of Today and Tomorrow.

Cristina can be seen lying at the bottom of the mural next to her sister Frida. She’s also the subject of Rivera’s Figure of Knowledge, located in the Ministry of Health. For this composition, Diego decided to paint a nude of Cristina holding a flower representative of her femininity. The nude was not meant to be erotic, but rather a symbol of female health and purity.

Cristina was only 11 months younger than Frida, and the two were extremely close. She grew up in a house built by her father in Coyoacán, Mexico. Even though her father wasn’t rich, he still managed to provide her with an education.

Later in life, Cristina married Antonio Pineda and got two children from him, Isolda and Antonio. However, her husband left her after the birth of Antonio. Soon after her separation, she moved in with Frida and Diego, together with her two kids. That’s when she started an affair with Frida’s partner.

Did You Know?

Frida also refers to Cristina in her painting Memory, the Heart. This is a self-portrait in which a metal rod penetrates Frida’s body, passing through an empty space in her chest. According to experts, this symbolizes the ‘displacement of penetration’ and refers to Cristina’s affair with Diego.