She is the daughter of Kate Trillo Graham and Eric del Castillo, a legend of Mexican cinema and a soap opera actor himself.

[citation needed] In early 2000s, Del Castillo played the leading roles in telenovelas Ramona (2000), El derecho de nacer (2001) and Bajo la misma piel (2003-2004).

In 2009, she had a recurring role in the Showtime dark comedy-drama Weeds playing Pilar Zuazo, a powerful woman in Mexican politics.

In 2002 and 2003, she embarked on an international tour alongside Argentine actor Saul Lisazo with the play Cartas de Amor (Love Letters).

[6] In November 2007, Del Castillo was named one of the "Stars of the Year" and in 2011 one of the "25 most influential women" and "50 most beautiful" by People en Español magazine.

In 2015, she had a recurring role as Rogelio de la Vega's ex-wife in the CW comedy series, Jane the Virgin.

In later years, Del Castillo appeared in many American movies, including playing Idris Elba's ex in the 2014 thriller No Good Deed, Antonio Banderas' wife in the disaster-survival drama The 33, All About Nina (2018), El Chicano (2019), and Bad Boys for Life (2020).

[19] She is set to star and produce Volver a caer, a six-part miniseries that a modern take in Spanish on Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.

[22] She also was cast in the comedy film The Biggest Fan for Netflix playing the role of disgraced actress Lana Cruz.

[25] It has been frequently asserted in the media that del Castillo was romantically involved with Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, allegations that the actress vehemently denies.

[citation needed] On August 22, 2005, it was reported by the LAPD that del Castillo's new house in Los Angeles had been broken into by thieves, who took some jewelry from the actress.

A frequent activist for a variety of causes, she posed in a 2012 PETA ad campaign encouraging pet owners to "fiercely protect" their dogs and cats by keeping them indoors.

[27] On January 9, 2012, del Castillo publicly posted an essay on Twitter (using Twextra) discussing social issues in Mexico[28] that included controversial statements directed towards Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the infamous head of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Authorities found DVDs of La Reina del Sur at the safe house stormed during Guzmán's initial capture.

[citation needed] On February 5, 2016, a Mexican judge granted del Castillo's petition for an injunction against any arrest related to the federal investigation into her ties with Joaquín Guzmán.

[41] Kate del Castillo did not return to Mexico until December 2018 and therefore since the injunction was issued[42] in 2016 and 2017 filming locations for Ingobernable were changed to San Diego to accommodate restrictions on her travel.