Jeff Baena, a writer and filmmaker, who was married to actress Aubrey Plaza, has passed away at 47.
According to TMZ, police and fire officers arrived at his Los Angeles residence on Friday (January 3) after his assistant found him deceased at around 10:30 am. He was declared dead at the scene.
A spokesperson for Aubrey Plaza released a statement saying, “The family is devastated and asks for privacy at this difficult time.”
At this moment, the cause of his death remains unknown.
Born in Miami, Florida, Baena pursued film studies at New York University before relocating to Los Angeles to advance his career in the film industry.
Baena directed six films, starting with “Life After Beth” in 2014, a project for which he also wrote the screenplay, as he did for all his films.
The 2014 zombie comedy featured Aubrey Plaza, who Baena had been dating for a few years at that time.
In May 2021, Plaza disclosed that they had married, referring to him as her husband in an Instagram post, confirming they had a small wedding in 2020.
Her Instagram caption stated: “So proud of my darling husband @jeffbaena for dreaming up another film that takes us to italia to cause some more trouble, excited to be reunited with the amazing @alisonbrie (who also co-wrote this one!) and @theofficialsuperstar @sordociego @lauren_weedman and so many more fun people in this. Preparati!!”
The couple collaborated on several projects, including “Cinema Toast,” where Plaza made her directorial debut.
In 2021, Plaza shared with PEOPLE, “It was very hectic while we were making the show because we were quarantined and Jeff, he created the show; it was his idea.”
“Our house became this strange post-production facility and he’s downstairs on his Zooms or on his sessions and I’m upstairs editing, we’re just going back and forth,” she added.
He is survived by his mother, Barbara Stern, stepfather Roger Stern, stepmother Michele Baena, brother Brad Baena, and stepsiblings Bianca Gabay and Jed Fluxman.
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