We have recently got a lot of very positive and kind feedback regarding our Memorable Moment Monday series and we would like to continue showing you amazing content as part of this series. We also found out that you really love photo galleries or content accompanied by graphics and photos.
So, this Monday, we will have a look at all the official Lara Croft and Tomb Raider models over the past 21 years, what their career looked like and where they are today.
Natalie Cook – Tomb Raider (1996)
The first official Lara Croft model back in 1996 was Natalie Cook, born in 1976, in Berkshire, UK. Back in the day, Eidos was looking for a real life representation of heroine Lara Croft. Natalie attended the casting and got the job. Her tasks as Lara included being present on various expos and events.
Natalie also recorded an official advertisement for Tomb Raider I, that you can find below.
Besides that, she recorded a song called “Raider” which, however, was never officially released. The studio version is available (thanks to Tomb of Ash) though, check it out below!
Today, Natalie still lives in the UK with her children and in 2016 she attended the Core Design Panel at PLAY Expo Manchester as Lara Croft, organised by official fansite Tomb of Ash.
Rhona Mitra – Tomb Raider II (1997)
Rhona Mitra was born 1976 in Hampstead, London, UK. She began her career as model and reprised Lara Croft from 1997 – 1998.
Rhona has also recorded an album as Lara Croft called “Female Icon”. Listen to the full OST below!
Today, she is a well-known actress and focuses on this part of her career. She is still active in modeling and besides that she is a singer and songwriter.
Nell McAndrew – Tomb Raider III (1998)
The third model to officially slip into the role of Lara Croft was Nell McAndrew, born in 1973 in the UK. Nell first appeared at E3 in Los Angeles and later at the ECTS in London. Besides that, she worked on the well-known Lucozade commercials.
While she was working as Lara‘s official model, some controversial photos of Nell appeared in the Playboy magazine. This led to Core Design taking the model job from her and fire her because the magazine referenced to Tomb Raider.
Lara Weller – Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (1999)
Not only sharing the same name, the fourth official Lara Croft model, Lara Weller, is also said to be one of the best and most resembling Lara models ever (according to a large amount of gamers).
She was born in the Netherlands in 1975 and replaced Nell McAndrew, when she was fired due to her controversial Playboy magazine photos which were taken while she was officially modeling for Eidos as Lara Croft.
Lucy Clarkson – Tomb Raider: Chronicles (2000)
From 2000 – 2002, Lucy Clarkson was the official model for Lara Croft. Born in the UK in 1983, Lucy was the youngest Lara Croft model ever. When she got the job, she was only 17 years old.
Lucy is still active in modeling, appears on the BBC London radio and can be seen on several TV shows. Having suffered from an eating disorder, Lucy is a spokeswoman against size zero and is a regular on BBC News 24. In March 2016 Lucy also hosted Taste Of Dubai in Dubai.
In 2008, Lucy appeared as herself in the TV documentary 10 Years of Tomb Raider: A GameTap Retrospective. One of her most recent projects is another TV series in which she appears as herself, the South Beach Classics.
Jill de Jong – Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (2003)
The official model for Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was no other than actress and model Jill de Jong. Born in the Netherlands in 1982, Jill started her modeling career already at the age of 15. Jill has naturally blonde hair and dyed it brown for her modeling job as Lara Croft.
Over the years, Jill became a well known, respected and successful top model, shooting TV and print campaigns for big brand names such as, Ralph Lauren, Escada, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana and L’Oréal in Europe and the United States.
Jill lives and works in Los Angeles and is currently developing her career as an actress. Furthermore, Jill is a sought-after celebrity trainer, health coach and chef.
Karima Adebibe – Tomb Raider: Legend & Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2006)
From 2006 to 2008, Karima Adebibe officially represented Lara Croft for Tomb Raider: Legend and Tomb Raider: Anniversary. She was born on 14 February 1985, meaning she shares her birthday with the original Lara Croft. Karima is a Moroccan-English actress and fashion model.
Before becoming Lara Croft, Karima was a secretary. The role of representing Lara involved promoting the game series in-character on television and radio, which led to Karima undergoing training in Lara Croft‘s trademark skills, from martial arts to elocution. She also had pronunciation lessons to make her sound more like Lara.
Alison Carroll – Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008)
Alison Carroll, born 1984 in London, England was the final and last official Lara Croft model.
What made Alison really stand out were her incredible gymnastic skills. She trained at the Urdang Academy in Musical Theatre and graduated in 2007 with a distinction. She also represented the United Kingdom as a professional display gymnast. She is a teenagers’ gymnastics coach, choreographing the winning junior team at the British National Championships. Besides that, since 2007 Alison has been a registered actress.
Today, Alison still focuses a lot on her gymnastics. Besides that, her recent projects include being “She-Hulk” for Universal Studios and doing the mo-cap work for Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn. She also founded Lightning Gymnastics.
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