'White Lotus' Star Aubrey Plaza's Husband Jeff Baena Dead By Suicide at 47 — Writer and Director Was Found by Assistant in LA Home After Tragedy
Jan. 4 2025, Published 10:31 a.m. ET
Aubrey Plaza's husband, Jeff Baena, has been found dead at the age of 47 in his Los Angeles home.
The Life After Beth director's body was found by an assistant on Friday, January 3, around 10:30 a.m., RadarOnline.com can reveal.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, and law enforcement claimed he died by suicide.
Police say Jeff Baena died by suicide.
Baena was born and raised in Miami. He later attended film school at New York University and moved to Los Angeles shortly after graduating to begin his career in entertainment.
He became a production assistant for Robert Zemeckis and an assistant editor for I Heart Huckabees writer-director David O. Russell.
After a minor car accident injured one of Baena's eyes, Russell began discussing story ideas with the young writer, and the two ended up collaborating on several scripts together.
The late filmmaker went on to direct several indie films, such as Life After Beth, Joshy, The Little Hours, Horse Girl, and Spin Me Round.
He even went on to write, direct, and produce his own TV show, Cinema Toast, an experimental series made from re-edited and re-scored footage from public domain films.
Jeff Baena worked as a production assistant for Robert Zemeckis.
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Baena and Plaza met in 2011 and mostly kept their relationship out of the limelight. The Parks and Recreation star's fans only learned about the marriage after she sneakily referred to the writer-director as her "darling husband" in an Instagram post.
Her post read: "So proud of my darling husband Jeff Baena for dreaming up another film that takes us to Italia to cause some more trouble."
In December 2021, Plaza discussed her wedding with Ellen DeGeneres. She told the talk-show host: "We got a little bored one night. We got married and I’ll tell you how: Onehourmarriage.com. That’s real, look it up."
On Wednesday, January 1, the Parks and Recreation actress, 40, was photographed laughing and smiling while sitting courtside at a New York Knicks game with comedian Jerrod Carmichael.
Plaza has not publicly commented on the death of her husband.
The filmmaker is survived by his wife, mother Barbara Stern, father Scott Baena, stepfather Roger Stern, stepmother Michele Baena, brother Brad Baena, and stepsiblings Bianca Gabay and Jed Fluxman.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
