Filmmaker Jeff Baena died by suicide inside the Los Angeles home he shared with his actress wife Aubrey Plaza.
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.
A helper found his body in the residence they bought in 2022, leading officers to arrive at the property at 10:25 am, as communicated by the Los Angeles Fire Department according to DailyMail.com.
‘Death was determined for an approximately 47-year old male, no transport,’ they said in a statement.
‘We were called to the 2100 block of Fern Dale Place to investigate a death. Law enforcement officers were dispatched due to the passing of a male individual,’ stated the Los Angeles Police Department. The director of Life After Beth was declared deceased at the location.
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.
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
Following the incident on Friday, the LA County Medical Examiner’s Office updated that the 47-year-old, pictured here with his spouse, passed away from hanging at their Los Feliz estate.
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.
He also had previously spoken candidly about mental health ahead of the release of his 2020 film Horse Girl.
On a Reddit Ask Me Anything forum he was asked if the film’s lead Sarah, played by Alison Brie, being released from the mental hospital and if the scene was based on personal experiences.
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’
Baena openly admitted to watching his stepmom suffering from bipolar disorder saying: ‘Unfortunately, people get released all the time when they still need treatment,’ he wrote in February 2020.
‘The 72-hour mandatory hold only applies to patients who are a danger to themselves, so they must be released after that appraisal period.
‘My first stepmom had manic depression and was in and out of facilities in Miami due to the Baker Act (5150 in California).
‘While I would not consider “Horse Girl” to be an activist film, the themes of how we as a society and individuals treat persons with mental illness was a major focus and impetus for making this.’
Baena and Brie cowrote the film together about the latter’s family history with mental illness, specifically the actress’ grandmother, who suffered from schizophrenia.
‘That was the original impetus for writing a story like this,’ Brie, who is married to actor Dave Franco, wrote on the forum.
The director and husband of Aubrey Plaza also said his family history with mental illness had influenced the film’s plot as well.
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.
He secretly married The White Lotus star in 2020 almost a decade after they met, keeping their relationship largely out of the limelight
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.
