Aubrey Plaza Addresses Sudden Death of Husband Jeff Baena

Aubrey Plaza has broken her silence following the death of her husband, writer and director Jeff Baena. Three days after Baena was found dead in a Los Angeles residence at the age of 47, the actress addressed the “unimaginable tragedy” in a family statement provided to numerous outlets, including PEOPLE and Deadline, Monday.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy,” Plaza and members of the Baena and Stern families said in the statement. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”

Baena was found inside his California home Friday. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed authorities responded to a call near Baena’s residence that day and he was pronounced dead at the scene, officials told Fox News Digital. Baena’s cause of death was ruled suicide, according to a report by the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner. A full report from the medical examiner’s office will not be available until the case is closed.

Amid her husband’s passing, Plaza did not attend Sunday night’s Golden Globes, where she was scheduled to be a presenter. The Brutalist director Brady Corbet gave a heartfelt message to Plaza while during his acceptance speech, sharing, “Tonight my heart is with Aubrey Plaza and Jeff’s family.”

Baena was an indie filmmaker who had more than a dozen directing and film credits to his name. He 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. A decade later, he made his directorial debut by writing and directing Life After Beth, the 2014 zombie comedy that was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and starred Plaza. At the time, he and Plaza had been dating for three years. They went on to quietly marry in 2021 and worked together on several projects, including The End of Love (2012), The Little Hours (2017), and Spin Me Round (2022), as well as the 2021 comedy series Cinema Toast, which aired on Showtime.

Reflecting on working with Plaza in a 2022 interview with Reel Talker, Baena said, “She’s awesome. I would be working with her if she wasn’t my wife, but luckily she is.”

He added, “Having that sort of shorthand and that sort of connection is amazing. The opportunities to create together and do something creative where we’re both fulfilled, how rare is that.”

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The previous Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) will always remain available.