[3] Her father, musician Luis Martínez Serrano, was a composer, conductor, and pianist from Barcelona, Spain,[1][4] and was raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

[1] After marrying in Mexico, her father accepted a job conducting an orchestra touring South America so he could introduce his expectant wife to his parents.

[1] Lupe was born on December 7 in Chile, where her parents decided to remain after Luis became ill during Luciana's recovery from childbirth.

[1][7] Upon graduating, she took courses at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in subjects such as English, French, drama, history, and folklore, to learn as much as possible about each of her dances.

[1][8] In 1951, Serrano moved to New York and joined Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo as a soloist[4][8] and toured across North and South America,[7] returning to Mexico to feature in a television program after that troupe also folded.

[10][11] Her repertoire included lead roles in major classical ballets such as Swan Lake, Giselle, Aurora's Wedding, and the Don Quixote pas de deux.

[4][7][8] Critic Clive Barnes said in The New York Times that her characterization of Odile was "flashingly malevolent", and that her performance in ABT's full-length version of Swan Lake "explod[ed] into a nervous and very exciting brilliance".

[12] Also writing for The New York Times, critic Allen Hughes declared her performance of Giselle as a "personal triumph" which "indicated that Lupe Serrano must now be ranked as one of greatest ballerinas dancing today.

"[13] Serrano created several roles at ABT for Capital of the World by Eugene Loring, Paean by Herbert Ross, Sebastian by Agnes de Mille, and Lady from the Sea by Birgit Cullberg.

[8] In addition, she danced other ballets by de Mille, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Antony Tudor, and William Dollar.

[16] The following day, the ballet critic for Pravda wrote, "For her (Miss Serrano), technical difficulties do not seem to exist – there is a real freedom of ease and virtuosity.

"[16] At a party hosted by United States ambassador to Russia Llewellyn Thompson, Serrano was congratulated by Bolshoi Ballet prima ballerina Galina Ulanova, who said, "You have a nice, easy, and light technique.

[19] In 1981, Ballet News reported, "Not only has Serrano kept her perfect figure but, without pausing for breath, she can rip off a brilliantly executed allegro combination that stymies even company members and guarantees a permanent crowd of awestruck acolytes at her studio doors.

[1] In 1957, Serrano married composer Kenneth Schermerhorn, who was musical director for the American Ballet Theatre and later worked with the New Jersey Symphony.

[4] A 1965 review in The New York Times praised Serrano's musicality in performing the lead in Giselle, noting that her husband Schermerhorn was conducting, "ready with rallentandos when they were needed for expansive lifts and with accelerandos when fleet footwork was involved.