(NEXSTAR) — “Frida” star Salma Hayek revealed that she had a near-fatal case of COVID-19 last year, something she didn’t speak publicly about until now.

Hayek first opened up about her scary bout with the virus during an interview with Variety.

“My doctor begged me to go to the hospital because it was so bad,” the 54-year-old actress recalled. “I said, ‘No, thank you. I’d rather die at home.'”

Hayek caught COVID-19 toward the beginning of the pandemic and spent much of last year recovering at the London mansion she lives in with husband Francois-Henri Pinault and their 13-year-old daughter.

She said she spent one seven-week period isolated in a room and had to be put on oxygen. Hayek, who worked on “House of Gucci” in April, says she still hasn’t regained her normal energy.

Hayek’s next role will be in Marvel’s “Eternals.” She told Variety she was stunned after getting 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 Mexican and a woman. But to be an action hero, being Mexican, a woman and my age, it felt like they were punking me.”

As one of the first ones called, she said it was torture to have to bottle up her excitement and not talk about the role.

“Eternals” is slated for release Nov. 5, 2021.