Victoria Eugenia Guadalupe Martinez del Rio Moreno was born on May 31, 1962, to parents Ramon Martinez del Rio and Guadalupe Moreno. The superstar's career started in 1979, with a dubbing role in the Japanese/American animated movie Ringing Bell, a children's movie with a plot dark enough to get the movies banned in several countries. Her first significant acting role was given to her by Ernesto Alonso, also known as "Mr. Telenovela," as Rosario on the soap opera Conflictos de un medico. This led another soap role as Pilar Alvarez on Al Rojo Vivo (which has aired since 1980) and a feature film appearance in 1982's De pulquero a millonario.
Ruffo worked with Alonso once again on Quiereme siempre beginning in 1982. This role allowed her to work alongside her younger sister Gabriela, as the daughters of the show's lead female protagonist Ana Maria, portrayed by Jackeline Andere. The sisters would later act together again in 1987's Yo el ejecutor. Later in that same year, the actress' professional partnership with Alonso continued as she played the highest female supporting role on El busca del paraiso. In 1983, Ruffo landed what is widely regarded as her most famous role: Natalie, the dazzling, disenfranchised lead and protagonist of La fiera.
Her work on La fiera has been hailed as one of the most iconic performances in the country's rich history of soaps. The popularity from that role stuck with Ruffo for the rest of her career, but a variety of compelling, often challenging roles continued to follow. They included a blind girl (the eponymous role on Juana Iris), a supporting role in the 1986 film Un Hombre Violento, and yet another iconic role: the lead in Simplemente Maria, a worldwide hit which has been remade in an array of different countries since its premiere in 1989. Ruffo has remained in the headlines of her homeland as a result of her marriage to politician Omer Fayad in 2001.