She was the winner of the contest Elite Model Look Chile 2001. In September of the same year she took part in the international contest (Nice France) where she competed with more than 60 delegates of 40 countries. The winner was the Dutch Rianne Ten Haken and Ruiz was the 1st runner-up. The third position was for another Dutch Femke Lakenman. Renata Ruiz represented Chile in Miss Universe 2005 in Thailand.