Short answers, pulled from the story.
Laura Matsuda first appeared on the 8th of October 2015, revealed to the public at the Brasil Game Show as the newest addition to the Street Fighter V roster. She was the first character from Brazil to represent the country in the game, stepping out from the shadow of the green-skinned Blanka.
The character was created by game director Takayuki Nakayama at the specific request of Capcom's Brazilian branch to provide a representative other than the established Blanka. Series producer Yoshinori Ono had been inspired by his visit to Rio de Janeiro's Brazil Game Show in 2011 and wanted a character who embodied Japan's fanciful view of Brazilian women.
The character's depiction as a sexualized figure with a highly suggestive outfit attracted significant commentary, with some arguing she exemplified inappropriate stereotypes of Brazilian women as being sensual and prone to dressing provocatively. Brazilian website Universo Online felt her hypersexualized design was at odds with attempts to better portray women in gaming, noting that other female characters were less sexualized by comparison.
G.K. Bowes provides the English voice and Yoko Hikasa voices her in Japanese. The English voice director, Johnathan Klein, worked to ensure that Laura's personality was built around the theme of everyday being Carnival, making her brash and playful while also sweet.
Laura Matsuda is the sister of Sean Matsuda, a character who had appeared in Street Fighter III since 1997. This connection was forged to strengthen the background of the existing character and to provide Laura with a personal stake in the world of Street Fighter.
She appeared in the web mini-series Street Fighter: Resurrection, a prequel to the events of Street Fighter V, where she was portrayed by Natascha Hopkins. In print media, she was featured in the Street Fighter V Free Comic Book Day Special issue of UDON Entertainment's Street Fighter comic series and on one of the covers of the Street Fighter Swimsuit Special 1 issue in 2022.