Lia Laats (2 February 1926 – 24 April 2004) was an Estonian stage and film actress whose career spanned over forty years.

[1] From 1946 until 1948 (and again, from 1976 until 1980), Laats performed at the Estonia Theatre, in dramatic roles, comedies, operettas and musicals with the Estonian National Opera.

[2] Lia Laats made her screen debut in the 1947 Herbert Rappaport directed Soviet-Estonian language drama Elu tsitadellis (English: Life in a Citadel) for Lenfilm, based on the 1946 play of the same name by Estonian author and communist politician August Jakobson.

Elu tsitadellis was the first post-World War II Estonian feature film, following the annexation of Estonia into the Soviet Union.

The film ends with jubilant Estonians celebrating their "liberation" and inclusion into the Soviet Union; accepting the communist ideology.

[4][5] Following several more dramas, Lia Laats was paired with Estonian singer Georg Ots in the 1961 Viktor Nevežin directed light comedy Juhuslik kohtumine.

Laats' most memorable roles are arguably in three comedies directed by Sulev Nõmmik and paired onscreen with actor Ervin Abel.