Salma Hayek has revealed that she came close to death last year after being diagnosed with coronavirus.

In a new interview with Variety, the Oscar-nominated actor disclosed that she spent much of 2020 in recovery, after contracting a “near-fatal case of Covid-19” in the early stages of the pandemic.

The 54-year-old added that while she has now mostly recovered, and recently completed work on the upcoming film House Of Gucci, she is still feeling the effects of the illness a year on.

“My doctor begged me to go to the hospital because it was so bad,” she explained. “I said, ‘No, thank you. I’d rather die at home’.”

Variety reports that Salma spent around seven weeks in isolation at her home, and at one stage had to be “put on oxygen”.

The Frida star still “hasn’t fully regained the energy she once had” as a result of the disease.

A number of high-profile stars have shared their experiences of coronavirus throughout the pandemic.

Tom Hanks was among the first to speak out about testing positive, with Idris Elba later stating he’d also contracted Covid in March 2020.

Since then, Hugh Grant has spoken out about the severe symptoms that he felt when he contracted Covid, stating last year: “It started as just a very strange syndrome where I kept breaking into a terrible sweat. It was like a poncho of sweat, embarrassing really.

“Then my eyeballs felt about three sizes too big and this feeling as though an enormous man was sitting on my chest.”

In February, Gwyneth Paltrow said she was experiencing long Covid symptoms, which included “some long-tail fatigue and brain fog” almost a year after her original diagnosis.