Aubrey Plaza is “deeply grateful” to those who have offered their support following the death of her husband.
The 40-year-old actress had been married to screenwriter Jeff Baena for nearly four years when he died by suicide on Friday (Jan 3) at the age of 47, and she has now broken her silence on the tragedy.
In a statement obtained by People, she said: “This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”
Baena’s body was discovered by an assistant and he was later pronounced dead at the scene, according to TMZ.
Police officials then told the entertainment outlet that Baena had taken his own life.
Baena was born and raised in Miami, before he studied at New York University Film School.
He subsequently moved to Los Angeles and got his first big break working alongside filmmaker Robert Zemeckis. Baena served as a production assistant for the Back To The Future director, working with him on a number of film projects.
Baena also got the opportunity to work with David O Russell, the award-winning director, and the duo ultimately collaborated on four scripts together.
One of their scripts included I Heart Huckabees, the 2004 black comedy film that starred the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Huppert and Jude Law.
Baena made his directorial debut in 2014, when he helmed Life After Beth.
The filmmaker spent several years trying to get the zombie comedy film off the ground, and it was Aubrey Plaza – Baena’s future wife – who ultimately helped to get it made.
The Megalopolis actress expressed an interest in playing the film’s lead role, and her involvement with the project proved to be crucial.
The couple also worked together on the 2021 drama series Cinema Toast, which marked Plaza’s directorial debut and featured Christina Ricci and Alison Brie.
Baena and the actress began dating in 2011, but they always made a concerted effort to keep their relationship private. However, Plaza announced their marriage to the world via an Instagram post in 2021, when she referred to Baena as her “darling husband”.
She wrote at the time: “So proud of my darling husband @jeffbaena for dreaming up another film that takes us to italia to cause some more trouble (sic)”
