Jeff Baena death: Filmmaker and Aubrey Plaza’s husband dies, aged 47

Baena had been in a relationship with ‘White Lotus’ star since 2011

(Getty)

Filmmaker Jeff Baena, who was married to actor Aubrey Plaza, has died aged 47.

Baena’s body was discovered by an assistant at his home in Los Angeles and was pronounced dead at the scene.

An official cause of death has yet to be disclosed.

Plaza’s representatives told The Independent: “The family is devastated and asks for privacy at this difficult time.”

Baena’s credits include films Life After Beth (2014), The Little Hours (2017) and Netflix film Horse Girl (2020). He also co-wrote I Heart Huckabees, the 2004 film directed by David O Russell.

Baena started his relationship with Parks and Recreation and White Lotus star Plaza in 2011; the pair married 10 years later.

The writer, director and actor’s films became favourites on the independent movie circuit and often received recognition at the Sundance Film Festival.

Life After Beth, the horror-comedy starring his future wife Plaza, was nominated for Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize in 2014 and, two years later, his follow-up Joshy, starring Thomas Middleditch, received the same nomination.

Jeff Baena has died, aged 47 (Getty Images for IMDb)

Medieval dark comedy The Little Hours, which saw him reunite with Plaza, starred husband-and-wife duo Alison Brie and Dave Franco, while Horse Girl, a psychological thriller co-written with Brie, saw Baena receive the biggest commerical hit of his career thanks to its Netflix release.

The film follows an introverted young woman whose dreams slowly start taking over her reality. Baena’s most recent film was Spin Me Round, which premiered in 2022.

It starred Brie and Plaza, and was the first film Baena directed after marrying the latter in 2021.

Speaking about working with Plaza, Baena told Reel Talker in 2022: “I would be working with her if she wasn't my wife but luckily, she is. Having that shorthand, that sort of connection, it's amazing – there's a handful of directors who are lucky enough to be with an amazingly talented performer.

Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena photographed in 2017 (Getty Images)

“The opportunities to create together and do something creative where we're both fulfilled – how rare is that?”

Baena’s career started as a production assistant working for director Robert Zemeckis. Reflecting on his early role, working on films What Lies Beneath and Cast Away, Baena told Creative Screenwriting in 2022: “Hopefully someday I have that level of filmmaking ability where I’m able to just envision something and then build it.

“At this point, with independent filmmaking, you have to be a little bit more savvy and come up with more tricks; but just his unbridled imagination, then being put to film was something that was super inspirational.”