Aubrey Plaza Breaks Silence on Husband Jeff Baena’s Death: “This Is an Unimaginable Tragedy”

Aubrey Plaza and the family of her late husband, Jeff Baena, released a brief but heartfelt statement on Monday, two days after his death by suicide.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy,” the statement read. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.” 

The statement was attributed to Plaza and the Baena/Stern family. 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.

Baena, an indie film director and writer, died Friday in his Los Angeles home, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office. He was 47.

Baena got his big break when he co-wrote I Heart Huckabees (2004) alongside director David O. Russell. The film was nominated for a Gotham Award for best feature.

He had been dating Plaza for three years before she starred in his 2014 directorial debut, Life After Beth, which he also wrote. It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The couple worked together on five films, including The End of Love (2012), The Little Hours (2017) and Spin Me Round (2022).

Another film, 2016’s Joshy, starring Thomas Middleditch, also bowed at Sundance, earning a Grand Jury nom. On the television side, Baena created, directed and executive produced the 2021 Showtime anthology series Cinema Toast.

Plaza and Baena were married in 2021. She had been planning to present at Sunday’s Golden Globes but pulled out following his death.

Christy Piña and Mike Barnes contributed to this report.