Who Was Jeff Baena? Aubrey Plaza's Husband Found Dead

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Jason Lemon is a Senior Politics Editor at Newsweek based in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to taking on the editor role, Jason's reporting focused on U.S. politics and international affairs. He joined Newsweek in 2018, and had previously worked as an editor at a Middle Eastern media startup called StepFeed. He also worked a year as a contributor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and has bylines in The Christian Science Monitor, The Palm Beach Post, Al Fanar Media and A Magazine. He is a graduate of the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and Andrews University in Michigan. You can get in touch with Jason by emailing j.lemon@newsweek.com. Languages: English, Spanish, French and Levantine Arabic

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Jeff Baena, a filmmaker who was married to actress Aubrey Plaza, was found dead on Friday morning.

TMZ was the first to break the story, citing law enforcement officials who said Baena's cause of death was believed to be suicide. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner later confirmed, per their website, that he died by suicide. The cause of death was hanging.

When Newsweek reached out to the medical examiner on Saturday morning about Baena's death, they referred to his case details on their website.

Plaza and the Baena/Stern family said in a statement emailed to Newsweek Monday evening, "This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time."

The Context

Baena is known for writing and directing the films Life After Beth, a 2014 zombie comedy, and The Little Hours, a 2017 medieval dark comedy. White Lotus actress Plaza announced in 2021 that she and Baena were married.

What To Know

An assistant discovered Baena's body around 10:30 a.m. local time on Friday, prompting first responders to go to a Los Angeles home for a death investigation, TMZ reported. Baena was pronounced dead at the scene, TMZ's sources said.

The filmmaker grew up in Miami before studying film at New York University. Shortly after graduating from NYU, Baena set his sights on Los Angeles to begin his career.

He has over a dozen directing and film credits and nine award nominations.

He is survived by Plaza, his mother Barbara Stern, stepfather Roger Stern, father Scott Baena, stepmother Michele Baena, brother Brad Baena, stepsister Bianca Gabay and stepbrother Jed Fluxman.

Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena
Actress Aubrey Plaza and director Jeff Baena are seen at "The Little Hours" premiere on January 19, 2017, in Park City, Utah. Baena, Plaza's husband, was reportedly found dead on Friday morning. C Flanigan/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Who Is Aubrey Plaza?

Plaza's acting career took off with her role as April Ludgate on the hit TV NBC comedy Parks and Recreation.

She also had roles in Baena's films Life After Beth and The Little Hours.

Plaza's recent role in season two of the dark comedy The White Lotus, which premiered in October 2022, got her an Emmy and Golden Globe award nomination.

Aubrey Plaza Weds Jeff Baena

Dating since 2011, Plaza announced her marriage to Baena in a May 2021 Instagram post. She shared a photo of the two of them looking into each other's eyes and called him "my darling husband" in the post's caption.

In a previous appearance on Drew Barrymore's talk show, Plaza said working with her husband is "like extreme highs and extreme complications. It's a really hard thing to navigate...we just muscle our way through it."

Does Aubrey Plaza Have Kids?

Plaza, 40, does not have any kids.

What People Are Saying

Since the news came to light, Baena's and Plaza's fans have taken to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express their condolences for the tragedy, with a larger conversation on mental health also taking place.

"Rip to Jeff Baena, I hope he found peace with whatever battle he was fighting and I truly truly hope Aubrey Plaza has some support around her during this time," wrote one person.

A second person wrote, "Saddened to hear of filmmaker Jeff Baena's passing. He's gone far too soon. LIFE AFTER BETH and THE LITTLE HOURS are under-heralded comedy gems. He and wife/ frequent collaborator Aubrey Plaza were cute together."

"This is heartbreaking. Baena made so many fun indie flicks I adored. Life After Beth and The Little Hours are so hilarious. Jeff, Aubrey, and Alison were like the Three Musketeers of kooky low-budget comedies. Can't imagine the pain they're going through rn. Rip Jeff Baena," expressed a third person.

What Happens Next

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said Baena's body has been released.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.

Update 1/4/25, 12:02 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update 1/4/25, 12:27 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update 1/6/25, 7:10 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Plaza and the Baena/Stern family and the additional information.

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About the writer

Jason Lemon is a Senior Politics Editor at Newsweek based in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to taking on the editor role, Jason's reporting focused on U.S. politics and international affairs. He joined Newsweek in 2018, and had previously worked as an editor at a Middle Eastern media startup called StepFeed. He also worked a year as a contributor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and has bylines in The Christian Science Monitor, The Palm Beach Post, Al Fanar Media and A Magazine. He is a graduate of the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and Andrews University in Michigan. You can get in touch with Jason by emailing j.lemon@newsweek.com. Languages: English, Spanish, French and Levantine Arabic

Writers Page
and

Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in October 2023. She is a graduate of The State University of New York at Oneonta. You can get in touch with Rachel by emailing r.dobkin@newsweek.com. Languages: English.

Writers Page

Jason Lemon is a Senior Politics Editor at Newsweek based in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to taking on the editor role, Jason's reporting focused ... Read more