Ruiz is best known for portraying cartel queen Isabella Bautista in the first two seasons of Narcos: Mexico as well as Maria in the American comedy-drama television series Mo that premiered on on Netflix.

Ruiz appears in the 1st and 2nd seasons of the Netflix original series Narcos: Mexico playing Isabella Bautista, a long time friend (and partner in crime) of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo.

Ruiz co-starred in the film The Delivery next to Mickey Rourke, an action movie parody directed by Louis Leterrier and appeared in Michael Bay's The Last Ship.

Ruiz went on to play the main character in Gerardo Tort's Round Trip (or Viaje Redondo in Spanish), for which she won several Best Actress awards including the Guadalajara's International Film Festival's Mayahuel, the Prix d'Interprétation Féminine at the Amiens International Film Festival in France and the India Catalina in Colombia; as well as Mexico's Academy Award: Ariel.

The play was produced by Martin Landau, Ellen Burstyn and Al Pacino and opened in Los Angeles in September 2014.