Karima Adebibe

Karima Adebibe (born 1985 in London, England), an English actress and model of Moroccan and Irish descent from Bethnal Green in east London, is the latest person to don the famous Tomb Raider outfit of guns and shorts. Karima is the first person actually entrusted to "be" Lara Croft , meaning that she is allowed to speak as the character, rather than just pose.

She was a sales assistant at the clothing store Topshop. In February 2006, she was officially announced as the new model for Lara Croft in the popular video game series Tomb Raider; the seventh model for this role. She had previously had a small role as Sacrificial Maiden in the 2004 film Alien vs. Predator.
In the game, Lara Croft is an English aristocrat and world-renowned archaeological expert, as well as an unparalleled athlete and a fluent Arabic speaker. So Karima has received a variety of training, from combat and motorcycle routines through to the less obvious, such as elocution and deportment. "In the beginning, it was a little bit surreal," she said. "But because of all the training, I really do feel like Lara Croft now. It's incredible."
This 12-month contract is rather different to what she was doing before. "It involves acting, skills, so much more than just modeling," she said. "It's not your normal job. I want to do it as well as I possibly can, I'm putting my heart and soul into it." It probably helps that she has dabbled in gaming herself, and played the first two Tomb Raider games.