Jeff Baena, an indie film director and writer and Aubrey Plaza‘s husband, has died. He was 47.
The filmmaker died by suicide on Friday in his Los Angeles home, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.
Baena’s breakthrough came when he co-wrote I Heart Huckabees (2004) alongside director David O. Russell. The film, nominated for the Gotham Award for best feature, followed two “existential detectives” who strive to solve the meaning of a series of strange coincidences.
He made his directorial debut in Life After Beth (2014), which he wrote as well. It starred Plaza as the title character and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that year, when it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize and eventually released in theaters by A24. His next project, Joshy (2016), starring Thomas Middleditch, also bowed at Sundance with a Grand Jury nom before being released by Lionsgate.
Baena also wrote and directed the Plaza-starring The Little Hours (2017), nominated for the audience award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and co-wrote, directed and produced Horse Girl (2020), which starred Dave Franco and frequent collaborator Allison Brie. Both those films debuted at Sundance as well.
He then co-wrote and directed the 2022 romantic comedy Spin Me Round, starring Brie and Plaza.
On the television side, Baena created, directed and executive produced Cinema Toast. The 2021 Showtime anthology series pieced together footage from movies that are now in the public domain. Brie, Christina Ricci, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Jake Johnson were among those to appear on the show.
Baena was born in Miami on June 29, 1977. He graduated from New York University Film School and headed to Los Angeles to begin a career in film. He landed a job as a production assistant for Robert Zemeckis and worked on several of his films before landing a gig as an assistant editor for Russell.
Plaza, 40, and Baena celebrated 10 years together when they wed during the pandemic in 2020. “We got a little bored one night. We got married and I’ll tell you how: Onehourmarriage.com. That’s real, look it up,” she explained on an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show in December 2021.
She said she negotiated to get an officiant to drive to her home two hours later and perform the ceremony in their backyard.
Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena at Sundance in 2017.
George Pimentel/Getty
The couple worked together on five films, starting with The End of Love (2012).
In addition to Plaza, survivors include his mother, Barbara Stern, and stepfather, Roger Stern; father Scott and stepmother Michele Baena; brother Brad Baena; stepsister Bianca Gabay; and stepbrother Jed Fluxman.
Mike Barnes contributed to this report.
