Jeff Baena, ‘Life After Beth’ Director and Husband of Aubrey Plaza, Passes Away!!

Jeff Baena, the acclaimed filmmaker known for his work on indie hits like Life After Beth and The Little Hours, has passed away at the age of 47, having been found yesterday morning in his Los Angeles home. Law enforcement has ruled his death a suicide. Baena was married to actress Aubrey Plaza, getting together in 2011 before tying the knot officially a decade later, in 2021. The couple frequently worked together after getting married, with Plaza starring in several of Baena‘s films, including Life After Beth and Spin Me Round (2022), which proved to be Baena‘s final film. Plaza had previously spoken about how big an impact Baena had made in helping her to navigate the difficulties of the film and TV industry. She told People in an interview:

“I think that when you’re with someone that is in your field, they understand what you’re dealing with on a deeper level. So obviously you are able to support each other and really understand kind of the journey that we’re both on.”

What Films Did Jeff Baena Make?

After earning his degree at New York University, Baena moved to Los Angeles, where he got his big break in Hollywood working alongside David O. Russell, which proved to be an immense success when he co-wrote the 2004 film I Heart Huckabees, which starred Dustin Hoffman, Jude Law, Mark Wahlberg and Lily Tomlin, and received some terrific reviews upon its release.

Life After Beth was his directorial debut in 2014, a horror comedy which starred Plaza alongside John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize before its A24 release. He earned a second Grand Jury Prize nomination in 2016 for Joshy, a comedy-drama film which starred Thomas Middleditch, Nick Kroll, Jenny Slate and Lauren Graham.

The Little Hours followed in 2017, a medieval black comedy which reunited Baena with Reilly, Shannon, Plaza alongside Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Miccucci, Fred Armisen and Nick Offerman. Brie would go on to lead his next film, Horse Girl, a psychological drama which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020. Baena‘s final film would be Spin Me Round, a dark comedy once again starring Brie, Plaza, Shannon and Alessandro Nivola. Baena was also the creator of television series Cinema Toast on Showtime.