She achieved international success in 2001 with the album Border which emerged in the music scene of Mexico and Latin America in the early 2000s (decade).

Downs began performing in school, demonstrating her vocal ability with traditional music, Latin and American influences, and with her own original twist on dancing.

Influenced by Chavela Vargas, Mercedes Sosa, Lucha Villa, and Amparo Ochoa, Lila Downs is recognized for her flamboyant, diverse and outré contributions to the music industry through her traditional and authentic fashion, the majority of which are based around Mexico's indigenous peoples' styles, cultures and heritages, which show through her performances and music videos.

Besides her musical career, she involves herself with humanitarian causes and political activism, especially dealing with issues of Latin America's indigenous population.

[1] She is the daughter of Anita Sánchez, a Mixtec cabaret singer and Allen Downs, a Scottish-American professor of art and cinematographer from Minnesota.

After some time Downs found herself back in Oaxaca, a city in southern Mexico, working at her mother's auto parts store, where she met her future husband and musical collaborator, tenor saxophonist Paul Cohen.

[7] During her stay in Minnesota, Downs formed a group called La Trova Serrana which achieved great popularity among the Latin community within the United States, singing songs about the Zapotec values and culture.

On this record Downs was accompanied by a set of well-known musicians who supported its interpretation of traditional themes, as well as country music and jazz.

[citation needed] This CD is now out of print, and although not available as part of the official discography of Lila Downs, can be found in digital format.

In 1997, Lila Downs made a second recording, called "Traces", on which she performed material that was to be included in later albums such as La Sandunga, Tree of Life and Border.

[citation needed] It was not until 1999, when Downs signed with the label Narada Productions, that she achieved commercial success and made herself known internationally with the album La Sandunga.

The album was sung in Spanish and Mixtec, and was produced by Lila Downs and Paul Cohen with the support of Xquenda Cultural Association.

In October 2000, she began a two-month tour called the Tree of Life/Árbol de la vida, which included concerts in Latin America, Europe and the US.

One Blood, one of Lila Downs's most successful albums, was released in April 2004, simultaneously in the United States, Spain, and Mexico.

This CD contains fifteen tracks, of which twelve are traditional Mexican repertoire authored by Lila Downs, and includes a version in English of "La cumbia del mole", the song that to date is the most well-known work by the artist.

It was entitled simply The Very Best of Lila Downs and was accompanied with a DVD containing thirteen tracks recorded live at a concert in Madrid, Spain.

The first single is titled "Ojo de Culebra" was contributed to by the Spanish singer La Mari by group of flamenco Chambao.

In October 2009 Lila Downs was honored by a plaque at the outskirts of her hometown and birthplace, Tlaxiaco, Mexico, and also was awarded the keys the city for her work preserving the language of Mixtec.

[26] Pecados y Milagros (Sins and Miracles) was the seventh studio album by Mexican singer-songwriter Lila Downs, released on October 18, 2011.

Other collaborations include songs with rappers Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas, Celso Piña and Totó la Momposina.

Her next international tour started at the end of March 2017 on the West Coast of the US, followed by a series of performances in Mexico, Europe and Latin America.

[citation needed] In August 2021, she collaborated with Guatemalan singer-songwriter Sara Curruchich on the song "Pueblos", which was released on the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples.

Although not part of the tour, Lila Downs appeared in the Live Earth in Germany, where she played three songs, and in late 2008 sang at the Harmony Festival held in California, United States.

Lila Downs explains her meaning behind Pecados y Milagros, also known as "Sins and Miracles" talking about the drug-related violence involved in Mexico's cities.

On the 5th of August 2023, Downs and her band gave a concert at the Festival "Chant de Marins" (Songs of Sailors) in the port of Paimpol, Brittany, France in front of 45.000 people.

[citation needed] Downs has had small parts in such films as Frida, Fados and Hasta el último trago corazón; the latter is a documentary on Mexican music involving various exponents of the genre.

Downs worked on the composition and arrangements for the musical Como agua para chocolate, based on the book by Laura Esquivel, which premiered at the Public Theater of New York and Broadway in late 2011 and early 2012.

In the film by Carlos Saura, Fados (2007), she sings an unforgettable version of "Foi na Travessa da Palha" in Portuguese.

In December 2022, Downs announced on her social media that her lifetime partner and husband Paul Cohen, died at the age of 69 years old, as a result of heart disease.

[50] On October 9, 2009, Downs, along with actress Salma Hayek represented Mexico participated in an event for the worldwide campaign of the One Drop foundation, to preserve water.