In a career spanning over seven decades, she is recognized for her versatility in acting across various genres of film and television in the Philippines.

Vilma Santos is widely considered the most lastingly successful Filipino film and television actress of all time.

Initially, Sampaguita Pictures had planned a child star role for her in Anak, Ang Iyong Ina (1963).

[8] In 2005, the University of the Philippines Diliman conferred on her the Gawad Plaridel Award for her achievements and contributions both as an actress and a public servant.

[9] In the same year she was conferred an honorary doctorate degree (honoris causa) in humanities by the Lipa City College.

On March 5, 2007, during the regular flag-raising ceremony at the Lipa City Hall, Santos-Recto ask for a week to decide if she will run or not.

Santos-Recto was proclaimed Governor-elect of Batangas on May 21, 2007, after garnering 475,740 votes against incumbent Arman Sanchez's 344,969, becoming the first female governor of the province.

[12] After her election for her third and final term as Governor of Batangas, speculations circulated that Santos-Recto would run for the national level.

She is also a member of the committees on Basic Education and Culture, Cooperatives Development, Information and Communications Technology, Interparliamentary Relations and Diplomacy, Labor and Employment, Poverty Alleviation, Public Works and Highways, Southern Tagalog Development, Ways and Means, Welfare af Children, and Women and Gender Equality.

ABS-CBN is also responsible for the restoration of some of her films as well as preservation, which includes Kapag Langit ang Humatol, Anak, Haplos, and Dekada '70.