Pinal achieved international recognition by starring in a trilogy of films directed by Luis Buñuel: Viridiana (1961), The Exterminating Angel (1962) and Simon of the Desert (1965).

A teacher encouraged her to take acting courses at the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA), where she was a classmate of figures such as Carlos Pellicer, Salvador Novo and Xavier Villaurrutia.

Laverne chose Pinal to participate in a montage with the company of the Ideal Theater, directed by the Spanish actress Isabelita Blanch.

[22] That same year, she performed in the film El pecado de Laura [es], directed by Julián Soler and starring Meche Barba.

[25] Pinal met and worked for the first time with the actor and singer Pedro Infante in the film La mujer que yo perdí.

[27] Her breakthrough participation was in the comedy El rey del barrio (1949), co-starring with Germán Valdés "Tin Tan", directed by Gilberto Martínez Solares.

[29] Pinal won her first Silver Ariel as a supporting actress for her performance in the film Un rincón cerca del cielo (1952), where she worked again with Infante.

[32][33] In that same year, she performed in the musical film Mis tres viudas alegres, where she shared credits with Lilia del Valle and the Cuban rumba dancer Amalia Aguilar.

[32] Pinal gained success and recognition in 1954 after appearing in the film Un extraño en la escalera, directed by Tulio Demicheli, where she starred alongside Arturo de Córdova.

Initially, de Córdova preferred either the Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida or the Cuban rumba dancer Rosa Carmina as his co-stars, due to his reservations about Pinal's youth.

With the support of the producer Gregorio Walerstein, Pinal transformed her image, emphasizing her sex appeal, which ultimately led to de Córdova's approval for the role.

With Tito Davison as director, Pinal also filmed the Mexican-Spanish-Chilean co-production Cabo de Hornos (1955), along with the actor Jorge Mistral.

[26] Pinal starred in several films by Demicheli, including Locura pasional [es] (1955), which would bring her first Silver Ariel Award as best actress.

[41] Under the direction of José María Forqué, Pinal starred in the Spanish film Maribel y la extraña familia (1960).

[42] Pinal had her first contact with Luis Buñuel through Mexican actor Ernesto Alonso, with the firm intention of starring in the film version of Pérez Galdós's novel Tristana in the 1950s.

[44] Years later, Pinal, with the help of her second husband, producer Gustavo Alatriste, looked for Buñuel in Spain and convinced him to film Viridiana (1961), also loosely based on a Pérez Galdós novel.

[54][55] After her work with Buñuel, Pinal returned to the cinema with the comedy Buenas noches, año nuevo (1964), where she co-starred with Ricardo Montalbán.

[57] That same year, she participated in the Mexican-Brazilian co-production Juego peligroso, directed by Luis Alcoriza and based on a script by Gabriel García Márquez.

[63] The decline of Mexican cinema and Pinal's activities on television and in other fields, such as politics, reduced the time she spent making films.

The other plays from her early theatrical career are The Madwoman of Chaillot, co-starring Prudencia Griffel, and El cuadrante de la Soledad, by José Revueltas, with sets by the artist Diego Rivera.

In 1957 Pinal staged the play Desnúdate, Lucrecia, in Chile, with Jorge Mistral, who eventually became a star of Mexican cinema.

[65] In 1958, Pinal was responsible for producing Mexico's first musical comedy, Bells Are Ringing, directed by Luis de Llano Palmer.

[66] In 1964 she made the Mexican version of the musical Irma La Douce, alongside Julio Alemán and directed by Enrique Rambal.

The show was presented with great success, first at the nightclub El Patio and then at the Teatro de la Ciudad in Mexico City.

[69] Pinal returned to the theater in 2005 with the play Debiera haber obispas,[70] She participated in productions such as Adorables enemigas (2008) and Amor, dolor y lo que traía puesto (2012).

[80] Eventually, Pinal decided to produce her telenovelas; her first hit was Mañana es primavera (1982), the last acting work of her daughter Viridiana before her death.

These included Carita de ángel (2000), in which she replaced actress Libertad Lamarque following her death,[82] Fuego en la sangre (2008), Soy tu dueña (2010) and Mi marido tiene familia (2017).

[6][88] Pinal had legal problems in 2000 due to conflicts with her management as the president of the Association of Theater Producers (Protea) in the early 1990s.

[6] As president of the association, Pinal delivered the Bravo Awards [es] for highlights in music, film, theater, radio, television, dubbing and commercials during the year.

[99][100] The Senate of the Republic observed a minute's silence as a mark of respect,[101] and the Secretariat of Culture organized a posthumous homage to the actress in the Palacio de Bellas Artes on 30 November.