Lara Croft is a fictional character and the main protagonist of square Enix (formerly Eidos Interactive) video game franchise, Tomb Raider. She is a very intelligent, athletic and beautiful British archaeologist adventurer who takes risks to ancient and dangerous tombs and sites around the world. The character was created by a team of British developer core design, including Toby Gard, and first appeared in the 1996 video game Tomb Raider. She also appears in video game sequels, print adaptations, a series of animated short films, feature films (featuring Angelina Jolie) and related products. Official promotions for characters include clothing and accessories brands, moveable figures and models. Croft is also licensed for third-party promotions, including television and print advertising, music related appearances and acting as a spokesperson. As of June 2016, Lara Croft has appeared on more than 1100 magazine covers, more than any supermodel.

Core design is responsible for the initial development of roles and series. Inspired by neneh cherry and the comic character tank girl, gard designed Lara Croft to fight against stereotypical female characters. The company revised the characters for subsequent titles, including improvements in graphics and increased gameplay. Crystal dynamics, an American developer, took over the series after its 2003 sequel, Tomb Raider: the dark angel, won praise. The new developer relaunched the character and video game series. The company changed her body proportions and provided her with other ways to interact with the game environment. Six actresses in the video game series expressed Croft's words: Shelley blonde (1996), Judith gibbons (1997-98), Jonny Elliot (1999-2003), Geely Hawes (2006-14), Camilla Ludington (2013-present) and Abigail stahlschmidt (2015).

Critics say Lara Croft is an important role in popular culture. She has six Guinness World Records, a huge following, and is one of the first video game characters to make a movie. Lara Croft is also considered to be a symbol of sex and one of the first symbols in the industry to receive widespread attention. The influence of characters in the film industry has always been the focus of controversy among critics. There are different views from the positive promoters of video game change to the negative role models of young girls.