Core Design first handled development of the character and the series. Inspired by pop artist Neneh Cherry and comic book character Tank Girl, Gard designed Lara Croft to counter stereotypical female characters. The company modified the character for subsequent titles; modifications included graphical improvements and gameplay additions such as new manoeuvres and in-game items. Poor reception for the 2003 sequel Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness resulted in a switch to American developer Crystal Dynamics. The new developer rebooted the character along with the video game series. Crystal Dynamics focused on making the character more believable, and altered her capabilities to interact with game environments as well as her proportions. Lara Croft has been voiced by four actresses throughout the video game series: Shelley Blond, Judith Gibbins, Jonell Elliott, and Keeley Hawes.

Critics consider Lara Croft a significant game character in popular culture. She holds two Guinness World Records and has a strong fan following. The character's debut was well-received by the video game industry, but her popularity slowly declined until the series' reboot in 2006. While the rebooted games were generally well-received, Lara Croft's redesign was met with mixed responses. Lara Croft is also considered a sex symbol, one of the earliest in the industry to achieve widespread attention. The character's influence in the industry has been a point of contention among critics.

Lara Croft is depicted as an athletic woman; she has brown eyes and hair, frequently kept in a plait or ponytail. The character's classic costume is a turquoise sleeveless tank top, light brown shorts, calf-high boots, and long white socks. Accessories include fingerless gloves, a backpack, a utility belt with holsters on either side, and two pistols. The video game sequels introduced new outfits designed for different environments, such as underwater and cold weather. Lara Croft wears a crop top in later games, and variations on this theme, such as camouflage pants and black or light brown shirts. The game manuals describe the character's backstory as an English woman born in Wimbledon, London who is the daughter of the fictional Lord Henshingly Croft. She was raised as an aristocrat and betrothed to the fictitious Earl of Farringdon. Lara Croft attended the Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun and later Swiss finishing school. A plane crash left the character stranded in the Himalayas for two weeks. The experience spurred her to seek other adventures around the world, shunning her former life. Lara Croft wrote guide books and other published works based on her exploits as a mercenary, big-game hunter, and master thief. The backstory was later changed to include her mother in the plane crash. While searching for shelter against the elements, Lara Croft witnesses her mother vanish after tampering with an ancient sword. Her father later disappeared in search of his wife.

Lara Croft primarily appears in the Tomb Raider video game series published by Square Enix Europe (previously Eidos Interactive). The action-adventure games typically feature the protagonist travelling the world in search of rare objects and mystical artefacts. Lara Croft first appeared in the 1996 video game Tomb Raider, in which she competes against a rival archaeologist in search of an Atlantean artefact, the Scion. Tomb Raider II, released in 1997, centres on the search for the Dagger of Xian. During her search, Lara Croft encounters a gang of thieves also seeking the dagger. Tomb Raider III was released in 1998, and focuses on meteorite fragments that imbues powers to humans. The 1999 title Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation first depicted a young Lara Croft accompanied by her mentor, Werner Von Croy. Lara searches for artefacts associated with the Egyptian god Horus, and later encounters Von Croy as an antagonist. In Tomb Raider Chronicles, released in 2000, most of the game focuses on adventures told via flashbacks. The first portable game, Tomb Raider, was released in 2000 on the Game Boy Color, and centres on the character's search for the Nightmare Stone. A second Game Boy Color title, Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword, was released in 2001, and sees a cursed Lara Croft facing off against a cult. The next portable game, Tomb Raider: The Prophecy, was released on the Game Boy Advance in 2002. The story focuses on three magical stones. In 2003, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was released on home platforms, centring on the murder of Professor Von Croy. However, it features limited world travelling and takes place primarily in Paris.

Eidos rebooted the series in 2006 with Tomb Raider: Legend, which focuses on Lara Croft's search for Excalibur and her mother. Legend altered the character's backstory as part of the reboot. Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a 2007 remake of the first game in the series, carried over design elements from Legend. Tomb Raider: Underworld, released in 2008, continues the plot introduced in Legend. The story centres on Lara Croft's search for information about her mother's disappearance. In the process she learns of the existence of Thor's hammer, Mjöllnir. A new game, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, was announced in 2010. It is set to be a downloadable game that will feature cooperative gameplay.

Lara Croft has been portrayed in two feature films by Academy Award-winning actress Angelina Jolie. The films depicted Lara Croft's backstory differently from games prior to Legend. In the games, the character's parents are alive, while in the films, her mother died in a plane crash and her father disappeared in Cambodia. The first, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, was released in 2001. The film follows Lara Croft as she encounters the Illuminati, a group searching for a relic able to control time. Paramount Pictures acquired the film rights for Tomb Raider in 1998. Producer Lloyd Levin stated that the film makers tried to capture the essence of the video game elements rather than duplicate them. Acknowledging the character's "huge fan base" and recognizable appearance, director Simon West sought an actress with acting ability as well as physical attributes similar to Lara Croft. Paramount also received input from Core Design on casting. Rumoured actresses included Pamela Anderson, Demi Moore, Jeri Ryan, and Carla Pivonski.

Jolie was eventually cast to play Lara Croft. She had not been a fan of the character, but considered the role as a "big responsibility", citing anxiety from fans' high expectations. Producer Lawrence Gordon felt she was a perfect fit for the role. Jolie braided her hair and used minimal padding to increase her bust a cup size to 36D for the role. She felt that Lara Croft's video game proportions were unrealistic, and wanted to avoid showing such proportions to young girls. Jolie trained rigorously for the action scenes required for the role, occasionally sustaining injuries. Her training focused on practising the physical skills necessary to perform the film's stunts. The difficulty of the training and injuries discouraged her, but she continued working through production. Jolie also encountered difficulties when working the guns, bungee jumping, and manoeuvring with the braid. West did not anticipate Jolie doing her own stunts, and was surprised along with stunt coordinator Simon Crane at her performance ability.

Angelina Jolie reprised her role for a sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, in which Lara Croft searches for Pandora's Box in competition with a Chinese crime syndicate. Directed by Jan De Bont, the film focused more on the character's development. De Bont praised Jolie's understanding of Lara Croft, as well as the character's strength, saying he "hates women in distress." Levin commented that the film staff tried to handle the character properly, and consulted with the video game developers on what would be appropriate. Despite the poor reception of the second film, Paramount remained open to releasing a third one. By 2007, Jolie was still optioned to play the character in another sequel. Development for a third movie was announced in 2009, with Dan Lin as the producer. However, a new actress is currently being sought to play the title character. Lin intends to reboot the film series with a young Lara Croft in an origin story.

Beginning in 1997, the character regularly appeared in comics by Top Cow Productions. Lara Croft first appeared in a crossover in Sara Pezzini's Witchblade, and later starred in her own comic book series in 1999. The series began with Dan Jurgens as the writer, featuring artwork by Andy Park and Jon Sibal. The stories were unrelated to the video games until issue 32 of the Tomb Raider series, which adapted Angel of Darkness's plot. The series ran for 50 issues in addition to special issues. Other printed adaptations are Lara Croft: The Amulet of Power, a 2003 novel written by Mike Resnick, and Lara Croft: The Man of Bronze, a 2004 novel written by James Alan Gardner. GameTap released Re\Visioned: Tomb Raider Animated Series in 2007 via the GameTap TV section of its website. The web series is a collection of ten short animated films that features re-imagined versions of Lara Croft by well-known animators, comic book artists, and writers, including Jim Lee, Warren Ellis, and Peter Chung. Episodes ranged from five to seven and half minutes in length. Actress Minnie Driver provided the voice for Lara Croft. The creative staff was given considerable freedom to re-interpret the character; they did not consult the video game designers, but were given a guide listing acceptable and unacceptable practices.

Core Design created Lara Croft as the lead protagonist of its video game Tomb Raider, which began development in 1993. Lead graphic artist Toby Gard went through about five designs before arriving at the character's final appearance. He initially envisioned a male lead character with a whip and a hat. Core Design co-founder Jeremy Smith characterized the design as derivative of Indiana Jones, and asked for more originality. Gard decided that a female character would work better from a design standpoint. He also claimed a desire to counter stereotypical female characters, which he has characterized as "bimbos" or "dominatrix" types. Smith was sceptical of a female lead at first because few contemporary games featured them. He came to regard a female lead as a great hook and put faith in Gard's idea. Inspired by pop artist Neneh Cherry and comic book character Tank Girl, Gard experimented with different designs, including a muscular woman and a Nazi-like militant. He settled on a tough South American woman with a braid named Laura Cruz. Eidos management preferred a more "UK friendly" name, and selected Lara Croft from similar-sounding British names found in an English telephone directory. Along with the name change, the character's back-story was altered to incorporate a British origin.