Lara Croft is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Square Enix (previously Eidos Interactive) video game franchise Tomb Raider. She is presented as a highly intelligent, athletic, and beautiful English archaeologist who ventures into ancient tombs and hazardous ruins around the world. Created by a team at British developer Core Design that included Toby Gard, the character first appeared in the video game Tomb Raider in 1996.