MAIN            LOOK-A-LIKES

Recent Screen Shots from Bulgarian National TV.  Lily was interviewed for her hobby as a Lara Look-alike.

My name is Lily Stoilova. I'm a 17 years old girl from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, Europe. I was born on 16.06.1985. Thanks to Lara I've met many great friends and had a great time. Also thanks to her now I work for a local Gamers' magazine called PC Mania.

Hobbies & Fav Things 

I've got many hobbies. Some of them are :

• Playing Tomb Raider and working on my websites.

• Drawing is my hobby too. I even want to be a computer animator. I hope someday I' ll make games like Tomb Raider. I' ll be proud if someone  likes my games as much as I and the other TR fans like Lara's adventures.

• Swimming, shooting and training Tae- Kwon Do.

• I have great interest in ancient mythology and culture & love reading anything that has to do with these or paleontology I can get my hands on. These interests I’ve had since I was very young and it’s probably one of the reasons I’ve become such a huge fan of Lara.

• Watching adventure films. Except Tomb Raider the movie (which I loved) my fav films are The Cell, 13th Floor & A Knight's Tale.

• Taking TR photos. It has become one of my hobbies. I really enjoy posing as Lara- actually it's a lot of fun.

• I LOVE HIM's music but also enjoy the music from the TR games and other soundtracks...  

Being Lara Croft

  As most models and look-a- likes I've had a great time being Lara Croft. I’ve met some of my best friends and people from all over the world thanks to her and had unforgettable times. I’ve also got my job which is being a game journalist by coincidence again- thanks to this brave girl. Here are also some of the jobs I've done as Lara so far: 

• I've done some modeling as Lara Croft for "The Net" at BAIT Expo 2002. 

• Appeared as Lara on MM TV & Channel 1 (both are Bulgarian channels). Also got some photos shown in The TR Movie Special

• Posed as Lara for PC Mania's 2001 Calendar.

• Posed as Lara for the cover of In Smouth's single "Lara Croft"

• My photos as Lara Croft have been used by the Russian magazine "Igromania" & the Bulgarian newspaper "168 Chasa".

I've also won a few look-a-like competitions: 

• 2nd place at The Young Lara Croft Competition Fall 1999

• 1st  place at the Young Lara Croft Competition Winter 2000

• 1st place in The Special Category- Composite Images at The Summer Competition 2000 with my submissions for the Young Lara Croft And Friends/Enemies Categories

• 2nd place in the Composites Category at the Summer 2001

• Best TR arsenal for a 2001 competition

I’d like to thank all people who helped me make this possible.   

Why Lara Croft 

I like the TR games and they mean much to me. I simply cannot imagine the world without them. I' ve played a lot of PC games but I like TR the most because it is really different. It combines different styles of games. There is pretty good history in it (like in a quest), interesting puzzles (I can' t compare them with the puzzles in any other game), there is a lot of action etc. Also I like the games because they are the only way for a human to really be Lara Croft. This feeling is amazing. To be strong and capable of so many things, to be aware of it and to know how to make it work for you. Since I was very young I’ve always admired people like Lara.

I’ve always liked strong and independent women. It’s also important that one has strong will and is willing to go after his dreams whatever it costs him and no matter how impossible they might seem. There’s a lot one can learn from Lara. I think it’s also important that a girl is not only beautiful but also intelligent. The aristocrat carriage Lara has also adds to this character perfectly because a girl has to have her pride and manners.

I’ve probably been looking for that someone for so long without even realizing it- until I found Lara.

It was almost surreal that a person who had the exact same features as the ones I’ve always admired existed, even if it was in an imaginative world. You can imagine how strange it was to find out the game was also based on ancient myths and cultures which have interested me for such a long time.

Something that also probably affected my decisions is that I’d just lost my best friend at the time I found Lara. So in a way I guess she became a best friend for me. It is a period I don’t want to remember- because at that time everything was slowly slipping out of my fingers as sand is slipping through a timeless clock.

Then Lara helped me to find the real me and become the person I’ve always wanted to be. I realized how strong I am after all and now I not only am proud of myself and chase my dreams but I understand myself better and am no longer confused with the person I am.

I think Lara is all a girl should be nowadays.   

Back To Business 

Now let me tell you more about the shooting of my photos…

Since I’ve been a look-a-like since 1999 I’ve changed a lot of different outfits and improved my old ones more than once.

The gun belt is definitely the hardest part of my outfits to make. The one I currently use is the best one I’ve had so far. I bought 2 holsters (there are only right ones) and a belt to which they could be attached. One of them was ok but the other one needed some work to be used as my left holster. The buckles I use were specially made for the belt and can be changed.

The boots are Lara Croft style New Rock boots, which were really hard to find in Bulgaria.

I also had difficulties finding a back- pack I actually got one from Greece where I was lucky enough to go last year. It was impossible to get one that looks anything like Lara’s in Bulgaria.

Other parts of my outfits are presents from dear friends of mine or simply things I’ve bought.

I have photos shoot on so many different locations that I no- longer can remember they stories of taking all of them. But there are some I'll never forget...

I took some amazingly good pix during Niels Berndsen's (LC's N 1 Fan) visit to me. Some of the pix used in my submission are memories from the great time we had while he was in Bulgaria for a week. We've visited places all over the country taking pix- caves, mountains, monasteries, forests, waterfalls...

It was qiute amazing when two other TR fans from Britain came to visit me too.

I'm also looking forward to a close friend of mine's visit this summer. She's a great LC look-a-like and a great friend of mine. You've most likely seen Anneke's stunning pix more than once already but if u haven't make sure to do so!

It is really great fun touring your country and taking pix with your friends...  

MAIN            LOOK-A-LIKES