Due to her father's illness, she started working at a young age, alongside her sister Carmen Barba, who by her beauty, was hired by entrepreneurs of the most famous tent theaters for various events.

Meche Barba both gained experience in tent theatres and took lessons from stars like Cantinflas, Manuel Medel, Joaquín Pardavé and several others.

After the success that she had in the company of Paco Miller, Meche Barba was hired as the second soprano in the musical show Rayando el sol in the Palacio de Bellas Artes.

In one of her theatre presentations, producer Raúl de Anda saw her and hired her to act in the film Sota, caballo y rey (1944), which was Luis Aguilar's first starring role.

In other films, she co-starred with such actors as Manolo Fabregas (Dancing: salón de baile), Carlos López Moctezuma (La mujer desnuda), Silvia Pinal (El pecado de Laura), Sara Garcia (Eterna agonía) and Jorge Mistral (La muerte es mi pareja), among others.

She returned to film in 1992 with Los años de Greta, for which she received her first Silver Ariel Award for Best Supporting Actress.