Jeff Baena: Acclaimed indie filmmaker and Aubrey Plaza’s husband dies aged 47

Jeff Baena, an acclaimed writer and director who was also married to actress Aubrey Plaza, has tragically been found dead at his Los Angeles home at the age of 47.

The LA police and fire department were alerted to the situation by a call from the filmmaker's assistant at around 10.30am on Friday morning. Law officials arrived at the property and Baena was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.

Law enforcement told TMZ that the filmmaker died by suicide.

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Baena's family expressed their devastation to Deadline, requesting privacy during this challenging time. Baena was renowned for his work on films such as Life After Beth and The Little Hours, as well as Joshy (2016), Horse Girl (2020), Spin Me Round (2022) and more, reports the Mirror.

Born and raised in Miami, he moved to New York for film school before launching his career in Los Angeles. His directorial debut was with Life After Beth, a project he collaborated on with his wife, Parks & Recreation actress Aubrey Plaza.

Speaking to Seensome in 2014 about his experience writing and directing the movie, Baena said: "It's all I ever want to do; it felt really comfortable and fun. I've been a writer for twelve years now and it was always a means to an end, I never wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be a director so this was always my intention and it felt right."

Plaza, who was set to present at the 82nd Golden Globes Awards on Sunday, tied the knot with the director in 2021 after a ten-year relationship. In May of that year, The White Lotus star nonchalantly revealed their marriage in an Instagram post shared with her followers.

"So proud of my darling husband @jeffbaena for dreaming up another film that takes us to italia to cause some more trouble [devil emoji]," she captioned, announcing they were working on a movie titled Spin Me Round. The pair first met in 2011 when she auditioned for Life After Beth - which also starred Matthew Gray Gubler, Dane DeHaan and Molly Shannon.

Their professional relationship soon turned into a personal one, and they started dating. Over the years, they worked together on several projects, including Joshy (2016), Horse Girl (2020) and The Little Hours (2017) - which features his regular collaborator Alison Brie.

In December 2021, after being together for a decade, Baena popped the question to Plaza. They decided to keep their engagement and subsequent wedding private, choosing a low-key celebration.

Despite typically keeping their romance out of the limelight, the Agatha All Along, star couldn’t help but sing her husband’s praises in a tell-all with People magazine. She gushed: "I think that when you're with someone that is in your field, they understand what you're dealing with on a deeper level. So obviously you are able to support each other and really understand kind of the journey that we're both on."

Mourning his tragic loss, Baena leaves behind his wife and actress Aubrey, mother Barbara Stern, stepdad Roger Stern, dad Scott Baena along with stepmum Michele Baena, brother Brad Baena, and stepsiblings Bianca Gabay and Jed Fluxman.

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