- For help and support call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988
Filmmaker Jeff Baena died by suicide inside the Los Angeles home he shared with his actress wife Aubrey Plaza, it has been confirmed.
In an update after his death on Friday, the LA County Medical Examiner’s Office said the 47-year-old died by hanging at their Los Feliz property.
His body was discovered by an assistant in the home they purchased in 2022 and officers responded to the home at 10:25 am, the Los Angeles Fire Department told the DailyMail.com.
‘Death was determined for an approximately 47-year old male, no transport,’ they said in a statement.
‘We responded to the 2100 block of Fern Dale Place for a death investigation. Officers responded for a male decedent,’ the Los Angeles Police Department added to the DailyMail.com. The Life After Beth director was pronounced dead at the scene.
In an update after his death on Friday, the LA County Medical Examiner’s Office said the 47-year-old died by hanging in their Los Feliz property
Baena was found dead by an assistant on Friday in his LA home around 10:30am. He is seen here alongside his wife Aubrey Plaza
Baena’s family told Deadline that they are devastated by the news and are asking for privacy at this time.
Baena got into film after he graduated from New York University with a film degree and moved to LA to launch his career.
He worked low-level jobs for big directors, including Robert Zemeckis and David O. Russell as he found his footing in the industry. He worked as a production assistant for Zemeckis and as an assistant editor for Russell.
He is best known for directing Life After Beth, his directorial debut, which Plaza starred in, and The Little Hours.
Baena also co-wrote I Heart Huckabees, which was nominated for a 2004 Gotham Award for Best Feature.
He also wrote Life After Beth, which premiered at Sundance in 2014. His film Joshy also premiered at the famous festival and was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize.
The Miami native also worked on Horse Girl and Spin Me Round.
For his television works, he directed and executive produced Showtime series Cinema Toast. He co-directed the product with his wife.
Baena got into film after he graduated from New York University with a film degree and moved to LA to launch his career
In her final post with Baena shared in May 2021, the award-winning actress praised her ‘darling husband’
He secretly married The White Lotus star in 2020 almost a decade after they met, keeping their relationship largely out of the limelight.
Plaza has not publicly commented on the death of her husband.
The actress’s final Instagram post with her husband revealed how ‘proud’ she was of him.
In her final post with Baena shared in May 2021, the award-winning actress praised her ‘darling husband’.
‘So proud of my darling husband @jeffbaena for dreaming up another film that take us to Italia to cause some more trouble,’ she captioned the post.
The heartbreaking last post together featured the star couple lovingly gazing into each other’s eyes and was accompanied with screenshots of a Deadline article detailing their ‘new assignment’ – the 2022 film Spin Me Round.
Baena is survived by his wife, his mother Barbra Stern, stepfather Roger Stern, his stepmother Michele Baena, his brother Brad Baena, and his step siblings Bianca Gabay and Jed Fluxman.