Nathalie Cook

Last updated
Nathalie Cook
Born1976 (age 48–49)
Berkshire, England
OccupationModel
Years active1996–
Known forFirst official Lara Croft live-action model (1996)
Modelling information
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Hair colourBrown
Eye colourBrown

Nathalie Cook (or Natalie Cook or Natalie Clarke, born in 1976 in Berkshire, England) is a British model [1] [2] . She was the original Lara Croft model [1] . At the time, her role was to embody a virtual heroine - powerful, fearless, and sexy [3] - the iconic protagonist of the Tomb Raider video game. [4] She began her modelling career after finishing secondary school. Originally from Berkshire, she and three other models were recruited by publisher Eidos to embody the features of a completely virtual heroine in the very first Tomb Raider, presented at the ECTS show in London in 1996 [5] .

Nathalie Cook was the first official model who helped establish the legend of the game Tomb Raider at ECTS in 1996, together with Katie Price [6] and another model. The models were tasked with engaging the crowds by embodying Lara’s adventurer persona: Cook recalls being instructed “to just run around, pretend to sort of shoot people to entertain attendees] [6] . She and her colleagues brandished Lara’s trademark dual pistols (as props) and performed action poses. [6] . Beyond live appearances, Cook also portrayed Lara Croft in at least one of the game’s early advertisements.

She starred in a live-action Tomb Raider promotional commercial filmed in 1996, which involved an overnight shoot at a derelict warehouse set [6] . After her period of public visibility as Lara Croft, Cook withdrew from promotional work and maintained a private life. In a later interview, she stated that she undertook “a couple of high-profile” projects following Tomb Raider before leaving modelling to raise her four children, describing herself as a full-time mother [6] .

References

  1. 1 2 ""Lara Croft Live Models – Virtual Lara"". VirtualLara. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  2. ↑ Zuckerman, Esther (19 March 2018). "To Become a Real-Life Lara Croft Model, She Had to Look the Part and Play By the Rules". Thrillist. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  3. ↑ Dell, Kristina (15 May 2005). "From Geek to Chic in 33 Years". Time. 165 (19). Time Inc. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  4. ↑ Olivier Pallaruelo (15 March 2018). "Elles ont incarné Lara Croft..." Allociné. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  5. ↑ "Lara Croft: des infos sur Natalie Cook, première Lara Croft officielle". Captain Alban. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "[INTERVIEW] Natalie Cook – the Original Real-Life Lara Croft". Tomb of Ash. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
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