On the morning of Jan. 3rd, Aubrey Plaza’s husband, Jeff Baena was found dead at his Los Angeles home. Law enforcement has investigated the cause of death when they arrived at the scene. They have determined that Baena performed suicide. The police are searching for answers on what has influenced the Hollywood writer to take away his own life. As for Plaza, she is not sharing any comments with the public until further notice.
Who Was Jeff Baena?
Jeff Baena was an indie filmmaker. After finishing his studies at New York University, Baena decided to move to Los Angeles, California. From there, he wrote and published his first film, I Heart Huckabees with David O. Russell. The movie featured a husband-and-wife duo who investigates their clients’ existential crisis. Thanks to the comedic twists on the detective trope, I Heart Huckabees was nominated 11 times for various awards shows. It won 3 awards from Golden Trailer (2005), Central Ohio Film Critics Association (2005), and Village Voice Film Poll (2004).
Baena went on to continue exploring and experimenting with different trope combinations. He would not release his next film, Life After Beth, until 2014. He worked alongside his future wife, Aubrey Plaza who played Beth Slocum. The movie tells the story of Zach Orfman who’s trying to rekindle with Beth after her parents revived her. Life After Beth became one of the few zombie romances before the trend died out.
Life with Aubrey Plaza
According to CBS News, Jeff Baena often cooperated with Aubrey Plaza during his projects. In 2011, the indie filmmaker and The White Lotus star first met during Parks and Recreation’s production. They bonded over a game of Balderdash, later becoming a star-director couple. In an interview with Vulture, Plaza helped make Life After Beth possible. Baena worked on the script for 10 years yet felt insecure about people who had read it including Plaza’s previous agent. At the time, she was searching for a role and saw the opportunity to join his project.
She stated, “Jeff isn’t the kind of person who likes to talk about business. […] We never talk about work that much yet. […] So I had to make him let me read it. When he did, it was so f***ing good! And it felt perfect for me.” Plaza and Baena have made sure to not talk often about their relationship to protect their privacy. On rare occasions, she shares how grateful Baena is a partner in their line of work.
Her most noticeable comment about her future husband could be found in a promotion for Child’s Play (2019). “I think when you are with someone in your field, they understand what you are dealing with on a deeper level. You are supporting each other and really understand the kind of journey that we’re both on.” Plaza’s words stuck true as they discussed on The Ellen Show their tenth anniversary in 2021. The couple jokingly thought they couldn’t get married on the day until Plaza found OneHourMarriage.com. She called him at 5 PM to get married in their backyard.
In His Final Days
Jeff Baena lived out his dream as an indie filmmaker. His wife, Aubrey Plaza was one of the best people he had ever met in his life. They were a team in and out of the Hollywood work life. His final projects with her and their closest co-stars were Cinema Toast (2021) and Spin Me Round (2022). Cinema Toast became a fun pastime series where Baena and the cast abridged voiceovers on public-domain films.
His parents, Barbera Stern and Scott Baena, and stepparents, Michele Baena and Robert Stern lived by his side. His siblings, Brad Baena, Bianca Gabay, and Jed Fluxman were happy to have him as their brother. As for Plaza, she was supposed to be one of the 82nd annual Golden Globes presenters. It is unknown if she will entrust another actor during her time of grief. Jeff Baena was 47 at the time of his death.
Update: Aubrey Plaza did not attend the 82nd annual Golden Globes ceremony. The Brutalist director, Brady Corbet did offer his condolences to her and Jeff Baena when he won “Best Motion Picture Director”.
