Marion Ravenwood is a fictional character that first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Played by Karen Allen, she enters the story when Indiana Jones visits her in Nepal, needing her help;— specifically, he needs an artifact in her possession, originally obtained by her father, archaeologist Professor Abner Ravenwood (Jones' mentor), in order to locate the Ark of the Covenant. After 27 years of absence (21 years in the films' internal chronology), the character returned in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and was once again played by Allen.