Jeff Baena, indie filmmaker and husband to actor Aubrey Plaza, found dead at 47
The Associated Press | Posted: January 4, 2025 6:59 PM | Last Updated: January 5
Writer-director's darkly comedic films included The Little Hours, I Heart Huckabees
Writer-director Jeff Baena, whose darkly comedic independent films included The Little Hours and who was married to his frequent creative collaborator Aubrey Plaza, has died. He was 47.
Baena was found dead Friday morning at a Los Angeles home, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office. His death was ruled a suicide.
Baena co-wrote David O. Russell's 2004 film I Heart Huckabees and wrote and directed five of his own films, four of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
He had been dating Plaza for three years before she starred in his 2014 directorial debut, the zombie comedy Life After Beth. His next film, 2016's Joshy, featured Thomas Middleditch as a man who gets together with friends months after his fiancee killed herself.
The son of an attorney and teacher, Baena grew up in Miami and attended film school at New York University. He told podcaster Marc Maron in a 2017 interview that his interest in cinema was sparked after watching Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 as a child.
"I was always drawn to left-of-centre things," he told Jim Alexander two years ago in an interview for the Reel Talker YouTube channel.
Baena said in the same interview that it was "amazing" to work with Plaza, who appeared in four of his five films. The 40-year-old actor and producer rose to fame playing April Ludgate on the television series Parks and Recreation and was nominated for an Emmy for her role on The White Lotus. The couple married in 2021.
"The opportunities to create together, to do something creative where we're both fulfilled, it's like how rare is that? She's down and she's so talented, so I'm really lucky," Baena said.
A representative for Plaza said that in addition to Plaza, Baena is survived by his mother, Barbara Stern, stepfather Roger Stern, father Scott Baena, stepmother Michele Baena, brother Brad Baena and stepsiblings Bianca Gabay and Jed Fluxman.
If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:
- Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988.
- Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. Text 686868. Live chat counselling on the website.
- Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.
This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.