Career
Medina's debut in the artistic medium as a professional was with H3O, where she worked with Alejandro Jodorowsky. Later she participated with Julio Castillo, where she was seen by Ofelia Guilmáin. Guilmáin took her with Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta, who sent her with Luis de Llano, who gave her the opportunity to work in Lucía Sombras, where she had the leading role. She made her film debut in 1968 with the film La paz
In 1971, she was called by producer Ernesto Alonso to make her first television appearance in the series Landrú, which was followed by the melodrama Lucía Sombra (1971), where she had the main role and became a "romantic heroine". Later she participated in La hiena (1973) and Paloma (1975). In 1977, she played a hunchback in the telenovela Rina, which gained her critical acclaim. A year later, she worked in Hollywood with The Big Fix (1978).
In 1983, she portrayed Frida Kahlo in Paul Leduc's Frida, naturaleza viva, an award-winning film about Kahlo's life. In Canada, Medina was nominated for the Genie Award for her work in Diplomatic Immunity in 1991.
On television, in addition to Lucía Sombra, she worked in La Señora Joven, Paloma, Rina with Enrique Álvarez Félix, La gloria y el infierno and Toda una vida Desam, directed by Héctor Mendoza, based on the life of María Conesa and other actresses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She participated in the telenovela For a lifetime, a part recorded in Peru and part in Mexico and it was a new version of the famous Vivir un Poco. She made a special participation in A Corazón Abierto.
She directed and starred in the play The night that never existed, by Humberto Robles, winner of the 2014 Emilio Carballido National Dramaturgy Prize. She participated in the shows Mujeres sin Fear: We are all Atenco on the repression of San Salvador Atenco in May 2006 and belongs to the group of the same name along with Begoña Lecumberri, Julieta Egurrola, Carmen Huete, Francesca Guillén and Humberto Robles, among other actors and guest musicians.
In 2006, she took part in the movie I love Miami (2006), by Alejandro González Padilla, and participated in the dubbing of the animated film The legend of Nahuala (2007).
In 2008, she reappeared on the small screen in the chapter "Mónica, cornered", from the series Mujeres Asesinas, in which she played Beatriz, mother of the character played by actress Iran Castillo.
The following year, she premiered in Rome, Italy, in Mexican Voices, in which she gave life to female characters from the history of Mexico, such as Kahlo, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and Rosario Castellanos.
In 2008, she was part of the series Mujeres Asesinas in the Monica chapter, cornered with Iran Castillo.
In 2013, she was part of the telenovelas, Los Rey and Secretos de familia, on TV Azteca. In 2015, she worked on the soap opera Tanto amor playing Silvia Iturbide Vda. by Lombardo
In July 2016, she announced that at the end of the year she would begin shooting her first film as a director, a story about a boy from the Mayan community inspired by the reality that she herself has scripted.
In 2021, Medina received the Golden Ariel in recognition of her career and activism for indigenous groups. The award was given to her by Guadalupe Vázquez, a Tzotzil activist and survivor of the 1997 Acteal massacre.
