An outstanding role was Cristina del Junco in the telenovela El derecho de nacer in 1981, which gave Buenfil international exposure as an upcoming young actress.

The following year, in 1986, Buenfil starred in El Engaño, alongside Frank Moro, Guillermo Garcia Cantu, and Luz Maria Jerez.

Amor en silencio, produced by Carla Estrada, became an instant hit due to the cast and the well-written storyline.

[citation needed] After her success with Amor en silencio, Buenfil took a few years off from telenovelas before returning in 1991 in Vida Robada alongside Sergio Goyri and Cynthia Klitbo.

She said that she changed her mind over the weekend, but when she called the producer Jose Rendón, she was told that the role had already been given to actress Ana Colchero.

[citation needed] After the success of Marisol, Buenfil did some theater, made a special appearance in her friend Laura Flores' vehicle El Alma No Tiene Color, and was offered various scripts, including starring in 1998's La Usurpadora.

[citation needed] The next year, in 1999, Buenfil found herself headlining the cast of the novela Tres Mujeres, where she shared the lead with Karyme Lozano and Jorge Salinas, in their first starring roles.

Even though Televisa placed the novela in a non-prime time slot, Tres Mujeres delivered better than the network's other primetime soaps.

The novela was not very successful in part because of the difficult afternoon schedule and because Televisa did not promote it well, delaying over a year to air it in Mexico.

[citation needed] In June 2012, after an exhausting casting battle over the lead role in the telenovela Amores Verdaderos, Erika Buenfil was selected as the heroine.

For the role of Victoria Balvanera Gil de Brizz, Buenfil won the TVyNovelas award for best lead actress.

On August 22, 2015 she performed in the Symphony Broadway Theater, acting as Fabiola in Infidelidades alongside Laura Flores, Alfredo Adame, Natasha Dupeyron, and Omar Fierro.

[citation needed] In 2015, Buenfil returned to television with a starring role in A que no me dejas, a remake of the telenovela she had led 26 years before; Amor en silencio.

On July 10, 2007, Erika Buenfil's mother Maria Martha died after complications from a rare disease that affected her heart.