Aubrey Plaza showcased her baby bump in her first appearance on the red carpet since revealing she is pregnant.
The Emmy-nominated actress, 41, was seen at a screening of her animated series Kevin at the New York City venue Metrograph on Thursday.
Plaza, who’s expecting a child with partner Christopher Abbott, 40, beamed as she posed for photos in a white mini-dress with blue floral patterns and pockets.
The White Lotus actress, who is just more than a year removed from the tragic suicide of estranged husband Jeff Baena, was clad in white high heel shoes and donned earrings, with her brown locks parted. She wore sunglasses during her entrance.
The Wilmington, Delaware-born star was seen with co-stars on the show including Whoopi Goldberg, Quinta Brunson and John Waters at the event in the Big Apple.
The adult-geared animated series, according to a logline, focuses on ‘a life-long housecat [who] decides that he doesn’t want to live with people anymore.’
Aubrey Plaza, 41, was seen at a screening of her animated series Kevin at the New York City venue Metrograph on Thursday.
The Wilmington, Delaware-born star showcased her baby bump in her first appearance on the red carpet since revealing she is pregnant
Kevin, which Plaza created with Joe Wengert and Dan Murphy, also features the voices of stars such as Amy Sedaris, Cary Elwes, Jason Schwartzman, Tig Notaro, John Waters, Addison Rae and Patti LuPone.
On her Instagram Stories Thursday, Plaza shared images of herself walking with a life-size Kevin mascot; and a cast shot from the premiere.
Plaza spoke with the Today show last fall about what she was striving for creatively with the forthcoming Prime Video series, comparing it with a classic 80s sitcom.
‘It almost has, like, this Golden Girls kind of vibe, where you get this group of cats that all live together, and then they all have their romantic shenanigans and stuff, but you always end up back at Furrever Friends, where they all live,’ Plaza said. ‘It just feels like a classic show.’
She said of the show, ‘There’s something cozy about it, but I think it’s very New York. It’s got this indie-like vibe to it too.’
Plaza predicted the show’s arrival and impact ‘will be unexpected’ in the genre.
‘I think most animation these days is so fast and crazy, but ours has a different tone I’m really excited about,’ she said.
Plaza opened up for the first time about the journey to becoming a mother in audio excerpts from the Smartless podcast released earlier this week.
The A-lister beamed as she posed for photos in a white mini-dress with blue floral patterns
The White Lotus actress is just more than a year removed from the tragic suicide of estranged husband Jeff Baena
People first reported that Plaza was expecting a child with Abbott, with a representative for the actress confirming the news to the outlet
‘Well, there’s a baby inside of me. No, I said there’s a baby inside of me right now,’ the actress said on an upcoming episode of the Smartless podcast as actor hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes were in disbelief over the reveal.
The trio of actors expressed their excitement over the big news as Plaza revealed that she had gone to the doctor for an ultrasound earlier that day.
Plaza explained: ‘Today was a big day. I went to the doctor’s today, and my dog also went to the doctor’s. And both of us — my dog’s getting a scan right now. I got a scan earlier. I’m not kidding.
‘She had to get an ultrasound on her stomach. And then I got an ultrasound on my stomach, and there is a baby in there.’
The Parks And Recreation actress was then asked if she was ‘excited’ about becoming a first-time mom. She replied: ‘I am. Yeah. I’ve always wanted … to see what that’s all about, you know? It just seems so interesting, that whole thing.’
On Thursday, Plaza and her partner Abbott were photographed celebrating the Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman at the show’s opening night afterparty at Katz’s Deli in New York City.
The couple put on a cozy display as they posed inside the dimly-lit hotspot, with Plaza beaming with joy as she cuddled up to her partner.
Plaza’s bump was not photographed however she did reveal it during a dog walk in the Big Apple the day prior.
The baby, whose gender has not been revealed, is due in the fall.
‘It was a beautiful surprise after an emotional year,’ a source told People.
Plaza held up a studded figurine of the titular character Kevin at the debut
The adult-geared animated series, according to a logline, focuses on ‘a life-long housecat [who] decides that he doesn’t want to live with people anymore’
The Wilmington, Delaware-born star was seen with fellow celebs such as Whoopi Goldberg and Quinta Brunson at the event in the Big Apple
The couple, who previously starred on Broadway together before falling in love, are said to be feeling ‘very blessed.’
People first reported that Plaza was expecting a child with Abbott, with a representative for the actress confirming the news to the outlet.
Abbott is best known for playing the on-off boyfriend of Allison Williams’s character Marnie on Lena Dunham’s influential HBO comedy Girls.
The couple first worked together in 2019 on the indie psychological drama Black Bear, in which both actors played dual roles as actors and directors trying to shoot a film in an eerie, isolated lake house.
The low-budget thriller premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020 to critical acclaim, with several reviewers singling it out as one of Plaza’s best performances to date.
She worked again with Abbott in 2023 – this time on stage – in the Off Broadway revival of John Patrick Shanley’s play Danny And The Deep Blue Sea, which ran until January 2024.
Plaza and her new partner were last seen together on February 14 when they attended Khaite’s Fall/Winter 2026 show as part of New York Fashion Week.
The two were pictured sitting side-by-side in the front row alongside stars including Elizabeth Debicki and Gemma Chan.
Plaza appeared to be in good spirits on the spring night in NYC
Plaza was pictured with filmmaker and actor John Waters, who voices the role of Armando
The comedic actress was seen with a life-size version of the Kevin character at the event
Prior to revealing her pregnancy, Plaza had managed to keep her relationship with Abbott under the radar.
According to DeuxMoi, a source had spotted Plaza and Abbott looking affectionate at Chatham Berry Farm in upstate New York last June, some five months after the death of Plaza’s estranged husband.
They claimed that she was spotted speaking to a woman whom they later learned was Abbott’s older sister, Christina Abbott, before she posted about a performance at the farm on Instagram.
Abbott is known for a string of acclaimed roles over the past decade and a half, both on television and on the big screen.
Prior to his breakout role on Girls, Abbott had a small supporting role in the well-reviewed psychological drama Martha Marcy May Marlene, which starred Elizabeth Olsen.
He has also appeared in films including A Most Violent Year (2014), James White, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016), also starring Tina Fey, and the psychological horror film It Comes At Night (2017).
In 2018, he appeared with Ryan Gosling as the astronaut Dave Scott in the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man, which was directed by La La Land’s filmmaker Damien Chazelle.
Abbott has primarily focused on low-budget independent films, but he has made forays into larger films, including comedy Poor Things (2023), also starring Emma Stone, as well as the DC Comics movie Kraven the Hunter and the Wolf Man reboot (both 2025).
He most recently appeared with Amanda Seyfried in the period drama The Testament of Ann Lee and will star alongside Florence Pugh in an upcoming Netflix adaptation of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden.
Plaza said of the animated Prime Video series, ‘It just feels like a classic show’
(L-R) Dan Murphy, Joe Wengert, Gil Ozeri, Brunson, Goldberg, Amy Sedaris, Waters, Aubrey Plaza, Joe Locke and Aparna Nancherla pose for a group shot at the screening
Plaza’s pregnancy follows a tragic 2025, which saw her estranged husband Baena die by suicide on January 3.It was subsequently revealed that the couple had separated four months before his untimely death.
An LA County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report obtained by the Daily Mail revealed that the filmmaker and actress had split in September 2024. She had been living in New York at the time his body was discovered.
The report detailed how the Life After Beth director had been ‘experiencing marital difficulties’ in his final months, and how he had been in therapy.
An investigator noted in the documents that Plaza, whose name was redacted in the final report, said she had spoken with Baena the night before his death.
The report also tragically revealed that the actress had been concerned for her estranged husband’s well-being.
‘In October 2024, Baena made concerning remarks to [Plaza], which prompted her to call a friend to perform a welfare check on her husband. Baena had been attending therapy since that event,’ the documents stated.
The report determined that Baena did not have drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death.
It stated that Plaza ‘knew her husband to be alive’ as of January 3 because he had sent her a text message that morning.
According to the report, it was a dog walker who discovered Baena’s body after hearing loud music emanating from his house, which she said was ‘unusual.’
The couple first worked together in 2019 on the indie psychological drama Black Bear, in which both actors played dual roles as actors and directors trying to shoot a film in an eerie, isolated lake house; pictured 2020
Plaza and Abbott attended Khaite’s Fall/Winter 2026 show as part of New York Fashion Week in February, sitting next to actress Elizabeth Debicki
Plaza’s pregnancy follows a tragic 2025, which saw her estranged husband, Jeff Baena, die by suicide on January 3. Above, the couple in 2017
After she called the writer and director and did not receive an answer, she entered the home and discovered his body.
In a statement to the Daily Mail at the time, a representative for Plaza said: ‘This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.’
Baena, who was known for hosting a popular series of game nights for friends and fellow filmmakers, met Plaza at one of the events in 2011, and the two began dating shortly afterward.
Baena, who got his big break when he co-wrote David O. Russell’s 2004 cult comedy I Heart Huckabees, later made his directing debut with the 2014 zombie comedy Life After Beth, which starred Plaza.
They reunited for 2016’s Joshy and 2017’s The Little Hours, which Plaza also produced, and she had a supporting role in his dark comedy thriller Spin Me Round, which starred Alison Brie, who co-wrote the film with Baena.
In 2018, Plaza told Page Six that their mutual obsession with movies helped them bond and led to their subsequent creative and romantic partnership.
The couple quietly wed in 2020, and Plaza revealed that they were married while promoting Spin Me Round in 2021, when she referred to Baena on Instagram as her ‘darling husband’.
They began dating in 2011 and secretly married in 2020. Baena was found dead in their marital home on January 3, 2025, while Plaza had been living in NYC since their September 2024 separation. Above, the former couple in LA in 2016
Abbott is best known for playing the on-off boyfriend of Allison Williams’s character Marnie on Lena Dunham’s influential HBO comedy Girls
Following his death, Plaza made her first public appearance when she introduced musical guests Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard on Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special in February 2025.
She made a subtle but moving tribute to her late husband by wearing a tie-dye shirt, as they wore matching tie-dye pajamas at their low-key wedding after he picked up making the pattern as a hobby in the early days of the COVID pandemic.
Plaza began her career working in sketch comedy in the mid-2000s, before she began appearing in short films and online comedy videos later in the decade.
She became a star almost overnight after Parks and Recreation debuted on NBC in 2009. Plaza played April Ludgate, the misanthropic assistant to Amy Poehler’s bubbly bureaucrat.
The actress went on to become an in-demand film star with roles in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (which featured her ex-boyfriend Michael Cera), Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), Ingrid Goes West (2017), Little Hours (which was directed by Baena), Happiest Season (2020), Emily The Criminal (2022) and My Old A** (2024).
She also appeared as a villain in the X-Men spinoff series Legion (2017–2019) and she was part of the ensemble cast on the hit second season of HBO’s The White Lotus in 2022.
In Black Bear the pair played dual roles as actors and directors trying to shoot a film in an eerie, isolated lake house
Plaza was pictured with her partner Christopher Abbott for the first time since announcing their pregnancy as they attended the afterparty for opening night of the Broadway revival Death of a Salesman
Last August, Plaza opened up about the grief she had experienced during a conversation with Poehler, her former co-star, on her Good Hang podcast, which marked her first interview since Baena’s death.
After Poehler referenced the death of her husband and asked how she was doing, Plaza replied: ‘Right in this very, very present moment, I feel happy to be with you.
‘Overall, I’m here, and I’m functioning. I feel really grateful to be moving through the world. I think I’m OK, but it’s like a daily struggle.’
She went on: ‘This is a really dumb analogy, and it was kind of a joke at a certain point, but I actually mean it. Did you see that movie The Gorge?
‘It’s like [an] alien movie or something with Miles Teller,’ she said, referring to the 2025 Apple TV+ science fiction thriller that also starred Anya Taylor-Joy and Sigourney Weaver.
She continued: ‘In the movie, there’s like a cliff on one side, and there’s a cliff on the other side, then there’s a gorge in between, and it’s filled with all these, like, monster people that are trying to get them. I swear when I watched it… I was, like, that feels like what my grief is like… or what grief could be like.
‘At all times there’s, like, a giant ocean of awfulness, that’s, like, right there, and I can see it.
‘Sometimes I just want to dive into it, and just, like, be in it. Then sometimes I just look at it, and sometimes I try to get away from it. But, it’s always there.’
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