Lara Croft is back, but she’s undergone a drastic makeover. As great a job as Angelina Jolie did playing her role, the world is going to see a different version of Lara Croft and this time, portrayed by award-winning actress Alicia Vikander. Not familiar with her name? Well, you may have seen some of her movies. Do Anna Karenina, Ex-Machina and The Light Between Oceans ring any bells? Vikander has starred in all of them. This Swedish actress is no novice in the film industry but her experience hasn’t made her immune to the difficulties of her new role. Especially when one is replacing an actress as legendary as Jolie. Seeing as she’s destined to be the most Googled actress this year, following the release of the new Tomb Raider film, we feel it’s the right time to get to know Alicia Vikander a little bit better.

15 Say hello to the new Lara Croft

''Her legend begins'' is the tagline for the next Tomb Raider installment, but we think that line resonates just as much with Vikander as it does for Croft. While she’s taken on big roles before, Tomb Raider could launch Vikander into action star status, just like it did for Jolie all those years ago. In theatres March 16, this action/adventure movie tells the story of Croft’s beginning and how she transformed into the invincible archaeologist. But exactly how much work does it take for a real-life actress like Vikander to become the gun-wielding character? Talking about her preparation for the role, Vikander told Elle Magazine: "I’ve never done action scenes on this level. I’ve never been able to lift my own weight, and the day when you have that capacity, it’s pretty empowering!"

14 But her beginning starts in Sweden

Alicia Vikander may be a Hollywood actress now, but her roots are not in the United States—they’re in Sweden. Born and raised in Gothenburg, to parents Svante Vikander, a psychiatrist and Maria Fahl-Vikander, a stage actress, Alicia Vikander is of both Swedish and Finnish descent. She started her acting career by appearing in various Swedish short films and TV series. Alicia received her breakout role in the TV drama Second Avenue and later made her feature film debut in the movie Pure. For this role, she even won the Guldbagge Award for Best Actress. But it wasn’t until she portrayed Princess Ekaterina in 2012's Anna Karenina, that Vikander attracted widespread recognition. That role really catapulted her career and led to other big acting roles.

13 She attended the Royal Swedish Ballet School

Not unlike her mother, who was a stage actress in Sweden, Alicia Vikander always dreamed of being on the stage since she was a little girl. That’s why she started taking ballet lessons as a child and eventually moved to Stockholm at 15 to attend the Royal Swedish Ballet School. Speaking to Vogue in a 2015 interview, Vikander revealed that her lessons began at 6 a.m. and finished at 10 p.m. Apparently, Vikander and her classmates would sleep on a big mattress in the locker room between dance classes to catch their forty winks. While she was a talented dancer, Vikander soon realized that she didn’t like the idea of growing up to be a ballet dancer as much as the idea of being an actor. So, she decided to give up ballet and pursue a career as an actress.

12 She has already won an Oscar

You may not have heard of Alicia Vikander, but Hollywood has certainly heard of her and they've recognized her for the great work she's done. As we mentioned, Vikander is already an accomplished actress who has starred in a multitude of well-known movies including Anna Karenina, A Royal Affair, Ex Machina, The Danish Girl, Jason Bourne and Tulip Fever. But it was her role as Gerda in the critically acclaimed film The Danish Girl that landed Vikander an Academy Award. So for anyone who isn’t familiar with her name, you will no doubt be familiar with some of the movies in which she has starred. And soon, with the release of ''Tomb Raider,'' we have a strong feeling she’s going to become a household name. We wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be the next Jennifer Lawrence. And here’s something else you probably never knew...

11 She’s married...to another famous actor

Alicia Vikander met Michael Fassbender on the set of The Light Between Oceans and they’ve been in a happy relationship ever since. Last year, the two got married. Generally, the couple maintain a private relationship, but Vikander has spoken out in the past about her love affair with Fassbender as has Fassbender himself. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Fassbender opened up about his relationship with Vikander, claiming their connection was instant: ''We had met on the dance floor of the BAFTA’s and the Toronto Film Festival [before the film started shooting]. She’s a very fierce performer and she pushes the boundaries of how far you can go. She’s definitely got all of those things in spades. I was like, love... What is this love thing?''

10 She is an unlikely Croft

With her petite frame and delicate features, Alicia Vikander is an unlikely Croft. Originally, the digital version from ’90s game consoles of Croft was the personification of teenage male fantasies, with her tiny waist, exaggerated bust and minuscule shorts. But in the 2018 version of Tomb Raider, you’re going to be seeing more Olympic athlete than bombshell. Gone are the swishing ponytail, exaggerated bust, short shorts and crop top. All of that has been replaced with modest cargo pants and a lightly padded bra. ''What little I have I kind of pushed up,'' she says. According to Tomb Raider director, Roar Uthaug, Vikander ''brings a vulnerability that I think is important. We’re not making a cardboard Hollywood hero. We’re making a girl that’s flesh and blood.''

9 And her fear of snakes proves it

In real life, Alicia Vikander isn’t as courageous as her on-screen role as Croft. She has a terrible fear of snakes that dates back to her childhood. The new Tomb Raider film mostly takes place around a lake, which is a hot bed for reptiles. ''It had these diving towers,'' she told Vogue. "I finally get to the top, jump, and that’s when I see there are about fifteen snakes in the water. That second I was coming down is like the longest in memory. Obviously those snakes got terrified and swam away, but I was just shaking. I couldn’t move for two days. I never really dove after that." We’re not sure whether she’ll be working with any snakes in the movie, but for her sake, we hope they're prosthetic ones.

8 She had to gain 12 lbs for the part

Preparing for a role like Lara Croft has to be physically demanding. There’s only so much the special effects team can do and you really can’t fake lean muscle. That is why Alicia Vikander underwent an intense training regimen and diet to get in shape for the role. With the help of celebrity trainer Magnus Lygdback, Vikander gained an unbelievable 12 pounds of muscle. Building muscle is no simple task and requires a great deal of time, patience and dedication. Luckily, Alicia’s dancing background could be thanked for her ability to accomplish such an impressive feat. She was obviously naturally fit anyway, but it still must have been tough to add 12 pounds to a small 117-pound frame. And it only took a few months.

7 But it sounds like she was made for the part

Alicia Vikander is not Angelina Jolie. The reason she was chosen for this role, however, was because of that. Lara Croft isn’t going to be the same Lara Croft we’re familiar with from the former movies. Directors want to give her a transformation and Vikander is the perfect person to do that. While her appearance might change somewhat, her personality is going to stay the same. Lara Croft is still going to be badass, though. With Vikander’s drive and self-discipline drawn from her past as a ballet dancer, she sounds like she was made for the part of Lara Croft. Mentally and physically, Alicia Vikander embodies all the essential elements of the Tomb Raider protagonist. We can’t wait for March to roll around so we can see her nailing her role!

6 She’s a badass in real life too

Outside of work, Alicia Vikander is still badass (forgetting her fear of snakes, of course!). Joining actresses Natalie Portman, Reese Witherspoon and Michelle Williams at Golden Globes 2018, Vikander helped promote Time’s Up, the new enterprise for combating workplace inequality. "It was such a community that came together," Vikander tells Vogu. "I got on the phone with Natalie, whom I’d never met, and Reese. Suddenly I felt like I made a lot of new friends. One thing that really got to me in their initial email was the fact that—because women are not as well represented in all industries—we often have to fight for jobs. The competition is so tough that instead of getting to know each other and working together, we learned at an early age to compete for that single spot. So then to get on the carpet yesterday and feel like I had actually made friends with the other actresses and people I admire, it was really cool."

5 And she has an amazing story to tell about Julianne Moore

On the topic of gender equality, Alicia Vikander has an awesome story to tell about Julianne Moore, who also seems to be pretty badass. This is the first time we’ve heard of this story but once you’ve heard it, you’re going to gain an immense amount of respect for Moore. It all started on the set of Seventh Son, when Julianne Moore came to Vikander’s defense after a male executive made a sexist joke at her expense. "I was really embarrassed, and I would have just laughed it off," Vikander recalls. "But Julianne turned to him and said, ‘If you ever do that again, I'm walking out of here and I'm not coming back.' She was just, like, ‘Don't you f--king say that again.’ It showed me that she had the power. And that meant so much to me." Go Julianne!

4 She owns her own production company

Adding to her already long line of accomplishments, Alicia Vikander has just recently launched her own film company, Vikarious Productions. Collaborating with her agent Charles Collier, Vikander already has a movie locked down for the company entitled Euphoria, by Swedish writer and director Lisa Langseth. Vikander will also be starring in the movie opposite actress Eva Green. According to a report by Deadline, the duo with play ''sisters in conflict traveling through Europe towards a mystery destination.'' The movie will debut later this month at Toronto International Film Festival. Vikander already knew that she and Langseth were a great team, as they worked together previously on Pure and Hotell, both of which were Swedish-language movies. Their upcoming film Euphoria will actually be Langseth’s English-language debut.

3 She has more movies on the horizon

In addition to Tomb Raider, Vikander has a couple more movies coming to theaters. Submergence, a romantic thriller, with James McAvoy is one of them. And of course, Euphoria, a Swedish family drama with Eva Green, is the other. No doubt we’ll be seeing her in a lot more in the years to come. For the past several months, however, Vikander has been taking a little break from acting to catch up on reading and just generally kicking back her shoes and taking time to relax. She was even able to recently fly home to watch her mom perform in a stage play in Gothenburg. "When I was a kid, I’d ask my mom, ‘Why are you crying when we’re singing in school?’" Vikander says. "And now it was almost the reverse. I was so proud."

2 She asks her parents for permission to do films

Alicia Vikander is someone who highly respects and appreciates the opinion of her parents. That’s probably why she makes a habit of giving her parents copies of all the scripts she likes so that she can get their opinions on them. One example of this is with The Danish Girl script. She gave a copy to her parents and her father urged her to go for the part. ''My dad read 'The Danish Girl' and fell in love with it," she told The Telegraph. "He told me: 'You need to do this film.'" He obviously made a smart choice because she ended up winning an Oscar for her role in this movie. Then again, her mom is an actress too, so we guess she can expect good advice and guidance when she asks for her opinion on upcoming movies.

1 She is the face of Louis Vuitton

It’s not hard to believe. Alicia Vikander has a beautiful face and the kind of face that would fit perfectly on a Louis Vuitton advertisement. What’s hard to believe is how she finds time to do everything. Besides her movie roles and production company, Vikander is the face of Louis Vuitton. Her role as ambassador means she’ll be representing their products and ultimately, influencing women all over the world to head to Louis Vuitton stores. With her profound talent, intelligence, stunning looks and effortlessly cool style, it’s hardly surprising that Vuitton chose Vikander to be their ambassador. What’s more, Tomb Raider is bound to push her name even more and land her more major movie roles. Alicia Vikander is a name everyone will be familiar with by the end of next month, we’re sure.