Jeff Baena, author and film director, committed suicide

Shock in Hollywood over the passing of Jeff Baenafilm author and director, who committed suicide at 47. Husband of the actress Aubrey Plaza, Baena was found lifeless in his home in Los Angeles by his assistant on the morning of January 3rd. According to the first rumors – published on the site TMZ – the man hanged himself and there was no possibility of trying to save his life, so much so that he was declared dead at the scene of the discovery.

Raised in Miami, then a film student at New York University, Baena moved to Los Angeles after graduation and over the course of his career worked on a dozen films as a director. In 2004, for example, he wrote together with Jason Schwartzman I Heart Huckabeesstarring Jude Law and Naomi Watts, subsequently made his directorial debut with the comedy Life After Beth. In 2021, however, Baena had created the TV series Cinema Toast, which marked Aubrey Plaza’s directorial debut.

Jeff Baena and his future wife were met in 2011, but over the years theirs has always been a very secretive story. There are few public outings as a couple, no announcements on the occasion of the official engagement nor the wedding. That the two had gotten married only became known in 2021, when she, in a post on Instagram, defined him “my lovely husband.”

No message, understandably, arrived in the most difficult moment for Aubrey Plaza. The actress’s last social post dates back to December 24th, when she sent Christmas greetings to her followers. The family has closed itself in grief and asked for privacy to be respected, awaiting the final farewell to Baena, which will be held in private.