Note: This article contains mention of death by suicide.
Acclaimed independent filmmaker Jeff Baena passed away on Friday, January 3, 2025, according to reports by TMZ. The writer, director, and husband of actor Aubrey Plaza was found unresponsive by an assistant. First responders arrived at a not yet specified Los Angeles home and pronounced Baena dead at the scene. Law enforcement officials have stated he died by suicide.
Baena was a beloved indie darling, boasting an impressive career full of cult classic gems such as “Life After Beth” and “The Little Hours.” After working his way up from assistant editor for celebrated yet controversial director David O. Russell, Baena and Russell collaborated on the script for “I Heart Huckabees.” This helped launch Baena into the filmmaking orbit and eventually led him to meet his wife.
Both he and his wife Plaza were fairly quiet about their personal lives, with one of the interesting things about Plaza’s career being they kept their marriage a secret. However, what was not a secret was that the couple truly enjoyed working together.
Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza loved working together
Even though Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza kept their engagement and eventual marriage under wraps, they were often seen collaborating together. In an interview with Reel Talker, Baena opened up on what it was like to work so often together as a couple. “[Plaza’s] awesome,” Baena said. “I’d be working with her if she wasn’t my wife, but luckily, she’s my wife … The opportunity to do something creative [together] where we’re both fulfilled — how rare is that?”
Of the five films Baena directed, Plaza was cast in four of them. According to People, when Baena went on to create the Showtime anthology series “Cinema Toast,” not only was Plaza able to act in the show, she was able to hop behind the camera and snag her directorial debut for one episode. “It was very us,” Plaza said in 2021. “We were sifting through hours of old movies and footage and re-cutting them together and just letting our minds go on a trip. So it was great.”
Though we may not know much about Plaza’s marriage to Baena, what is clear is that the duo loved and supported each other and were master collaborators together.
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