Del Rio`s wealthy family lost all their assets during the Mexican Revolution, and a desire to restore her comfortable lifestyle inspired her to follow a career as an actress.

In 1921 at the age of 16, she married Jaime Martinez del Rio, and through a Hollywood friend the couple emigrated to the USA with the plan of establishing show business careers for themselves: as screenwriter and actress, respectively. The marriage ended in divorce, but del Río retained her married name, continued to pursue a career as an actress, and made her first film appearance in Joanna (1925) in which Hollywood first noticed her appeal as a sex siren, but struggled against the "Mexicali Rose" image initially pitched to her by Hollywood executives.

She was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926 (along with fellow newcomers Joan Crawford, Fay Wray, Janet Gaynor, and Mary Astor), but initially overcame prejudice that same year in one of that year`s biggest screen successes, What Price Glory. She came to be admired as one of the most beautiful women on screen, and her career flourished until the end of the silent era with successful films such as Resurrection, Ramona, and Evangeline (1929).

She returned to Mexico in 1942. She was soon approached by director Emilio Fernández, and she began making Spanish-language films that brought her great success in Mexico and Hispanic America over the next twenty years. Among her most successful films were Flor Silvestre (1943) Maria Candelaria (1943), Bugambilia, Las Abandonadas (1944), The Fugitive (1947, directed by John Ford), La Otra, La Malquerida (1949), El Niño y la Niebla (1953), La Cucaracha (1958). She was nominated for Mexico`s Silver Ariel Award many times, winning four awards for her performances.

Dolores del Río has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1620 Vine Street, in recognition of her contributions to the motion picture industry.

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