Filmmaker and screenwriter Jeff Baena, who was also the husband of Aubrey Plaza, has died from a reported suicide. He was 47 years old.
According to TMZ, an assistant to the film director discovered Baena deceased inside his Los Angeles home on Friday morning (Jan. 3). Around 10:30 a.m. local time, police then responded to a call for a death investigation. Law enforcement sources confirmed to TMZ that Baena was pronounced dead at the scene and the director died by suicide. The exact circumstances of his death are currently unknown.
Plaza, 40, has not issued a statement following her husband's passing, although a rep for the actress told Deadline that "the family is devastated and asks for privacy at this difficult time."
The couple married in 2021 after Plaza played lead roles in zombie comedy Life After Beth and medieval black comedy The Little Hours, which Baena directed.
In a 2021 episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, Plaza shared that she and Baena wed "on a whim" during the pandemic. They had been together for 11 years.
It was Baena's co-writing credit for the 2004 independent film I Heart Huckabees that gave him notoriety, and ten years later, he'd direct Beth, followed by Joshy, Hours, Horse Girl, and his final movie, Spin Me Round. Baena was also a director of the former Showtime anthology series Cinema Toast.
If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, help is available. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.
