Born in Mexico City Camil is the son of Jaime Camil Garza, a successful Mexican businessman of Egyptian descent, and Cecilia Saldaña da Gama, a Brazilian singer. He earned a license in business administration from Universidad Anáhuac; studied acting in New York, Los Angeles, and Mexico; and took classical opera training in Italy.

He started his career in 1993 as a radio commentator on Radioactivo 98.5. In 1995, he made his small-screen debut as a host in El show de Jaime Camil. He continued as a host in TV Azteca's Qué nochecita con Jaime Camil and Televisa's Operación triunfo. In 2009, he co-hosted Aventura por México with Javier Poza, and in 2010 he hosted the Mexican edition of the game show, El Gran Show.

In 1999, he released his first album Para estar contigo, which took him to major cities in Mexico, South America, and the United States. After participating in El Ultimo Adios (The Last Goodbye), a tribute to victims of 9/11, Camil released his second disc, Una vez más, in 2002. The singles Dime and Muriendo por ti rose to #17 and #24 Billboard's charts. In 2014 he stood on the other side of the microphone for the first time, directing the music video Perdon for the group Barston.

His work in the telenovela industry began with Mi destino eres tú, followed by Mujer de madera. The role which finally brought Jaime Camil universal renown was in the romantic comedy telenovela La fea más bella. His interpretation of "Don Fernando Mendiola" earned him a nomination for a well-deserved Best Actor award in the Premios TVyNovelas. After Las tontas no van al cielo with Jacqueline Bracamontes, his next telenovela took him to South America for the Argentine/Mexican co-production of Los Exitosos Pérez in which he played twins. 2012 brought Por Ella Soy Eva with Camil's most technically challenging role, and one of his most memorable. His character Juan Carlos disguised himself as an outspoken older woman reminiscent of Tootsie. La fea más bella and Por Ella Soy Eva comprised two of the three highest-rated telenovelas since Mexico started keeping records. A year later, his guest appearance on an episode of Devious Maids helped propel it to the third-highest-rated show of the series.

His film debut was in Delfines in 1997, but it wasn't until 2003 when film producers noticed his talent in acting. He co-starred in three different movies filmed in just a year; Puños rosas (rel. 2004), Zapata (rel. 2004) and 7 Días (rel. 2005). For his interpretation of "Tony" in 7 Días, Camil was awarded the 2006 Diosa de plata as Best Supporting Actor. 2007 saw the release of I Love Miami. He participated in the Chilean movie All Inclusive. He went on to play the lead in two romantic comedies, Recien cazado filmed in Baja California and Paris, and Regresa, both released in the winter of 2008-09. Camil voiced the role of Barry in the Spanish-language edition of the animated movie Bee Movie. In the Spanish version of Open Season he dubbed the voice of Elliot, the Mule Deer. He is cofounder and spokesman of the Short Shorts Film Festival Mexico, as of 2006 .and has starred in shorts Mariana made in Tepito and Volver, volver.

Camil has often said that his favorite venue is the stage. In 2005, he played Nestor Castillo in the Broadway-bound musical The Mambo Kings. Later in 2005 he performed in Latinologues on Broadway. His work in Mexican theater includes the role of Bernardo in a revival of West Side Story, for which he won the Palmas de Oro award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical. In 2007 he played the lead, Father Silvestre, in El diluvio que viene, which won the APT and ACPT awards for Best Actor in a Musical. He has played colorful characters such as Captain Hook in the musical Peter Pan, and the Genie in the musical Aladdin.

In the fall of 2014, he acted in the role of Rogelio De La Vega, the biological father of Jane Villanueva, and, fittingly, a telenovela star, in the CW network comedy, "Jane the Virgin."