The brother of Aubrey Plaza’s husband Jeff Baena has shared that he is ‘broken’ after the film director’s tragic death.
The filmmaker died by suicide inside the Los Angeles home he shared with his actress wife Aubrey on Friday.
Commenting under a post made by Jeff’s friend Adam Pally on Instagram on Sunday, Brad Baena wrote: ‘I am broken.’
In an update after his death, the LA County Medical Examiner’s Office said the 47-year-old died by hanging at their Los Feliz property.
His body was discovered by an assistant in the home they purchased in 2022 and officers responded to the home at 10:25 am, the Los Angeles Fire Department told DailyMail.com.
Adam, a friend of Jeff, took to Instagram to share a tribute to him as he wrote: ‘Jeff Baena was a sweet Jewish boy from Miami.
The brother of Aubrey Plaza’s husband Jeff Baena has shared that he is ‘broken’ after the film director’s tragic death on Friday
Jeff died by suicide inside the Los Angeles home he shared with his actress wife Aubrey
Commenting under a post made by Jeff’s friend Adam Pally on Instagram on Sunday, Brad Baena wrote: ‘I am broken’
‘He was a collaborator, a mentor, the scrappiest basketball player with the ugliest jump shot you ever saw. He was a talented director with impeccable taste and vision, he was a connector of people, a fosterer of possibility, the guy who knows where the best restaurant was no matter where you were.
‘An overly gracious host with an almost disturbing open-door policy, a film encyclopedia, and most importantly to me a friend.
‘As a director Jeff strove for truth. Nothing could sound, look or feel inauthentic, and that is a direct representation of who Jeff was. Authentic. You never worried that Jeff wasn’t tell you the way it is. Cause Jeff’s virtue was telling you the way it was.
‘My heart breaks for my friend Aubrey and the Baena family and for all of us who spent time on his sets or at his house or in his orbit. Thanks for believing in my Jeff, may your memory be a blessing.’
Announcing his death in a statement, the LA Fire Department said: ‘Death was determined for an approximately 47-year old male, no transport.
‘We responded to the 2100 block of Fern Dale Place for a death investigation. Officers responded for a male decedent,’ the Los Angeles Police Department added. The Life After Beth director was pronounced dead at the scene.
Jeff’s family told Deadline that they are devastated by the news and are asking for privacy at this time.
The pair were last seen together on a hike this past summer, six months before his tragic suicide. On July 5 they were seen enjoying a stroll in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park.
Adam Pally, a friend of Jeff, took to Instagram to share a tribute to him as he wrote: ‘Jeff Baena was a sweet Jewish boy from Miami’
In an update after his death on Friday, the LA County Medical Examiner’s Office said the 47-year-old, seen here with his wife, died by hanging in their Los Feliz property
The pair were last seen together on a hike this past summer, six months before his tragic suicide
Dressed in casual hiking gear, the couple appeared relaxed in one another’s company as they visited the park, a favorite among locals.
Baena got into film after he graduated from New York University with a film degree and moved to LA to launch his career.
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.
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.
Aubrey enjoyed a New York Knicks Game just two days before his tragic death.
The actress was seated in the front row at Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden on New Year’s Day to watch the home team play the Utah Jazz.
In a photo shared on the Knicks’ Instagram, Plaza was pictured in a pair of jeans, a black corduroy jacket and an orange billed cap over her straight, brunette locks.
‘Starting off the new year with our courtside friends,’ the organization wrote next to a carousel of high profile fans, including Tracee Ellis Ross, Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann and their daughter, Maude, and Keenan Michael Key.
It comes as Aubrey was scheduled to present at the 2025 Golden Globes ahead of the tragic death.
Aubrey enjoyed a New York Knicks Game just two days before his tragic death
It comes as Aubrey was scheduled to present at the 2025 Golden Globes ahead of the tragic death
Earlier this week, the actress was announced among the stars, including Andrew Garfield, Demi Moore, Gal Gadot and Nicolas Cage, scheduled to take the stage during Sunday’s show at the award show’s 82nd annual ceremony.
It is highly unlikely that the Parks and Recreation star will still present or attend the Golden Globes, which will take place just two days after her husband’s passing.
DailyMail.com has reached out to her representatives, but has not heard back.
Plaza has not publicly commented on the death of her husband.
Last year, the performer earned her first Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a television limited series/motion picture for her performance as Harper Spiller in White Lotus.
Aubrey shared rare insight on marriage to Jeff during a recent Howard Stern interview.
She spoke about being married to a writer-director while making an appearance on The Howard Stern Show about three months ago.
On the radio show in September 2024, she spoke about maintaining friendships and a relationship in her line of work.
When Stern suggested that being married to a filmmaker rather than an actor was ‘better for [her],’ the Parks and Recreation alum agreed.
She also spoke about how she is ‘happy’ overall, in spite of Stern pushing back.
When Stern insinuated that her job was ‘not bringing you the happiness that you thought it would bring,’ she said with a laugh: ‘It’s lonely at the top.’
‘I don’t know how much of this is a put on, but it sounds like you’re not that happy,’ he told her.
‘I really don’t know. I can’t tell you what’s real or not. That’s my problem.’
When Stern asked if she has friends that she ‘doubts whether they’re really your friends,’ she replied: ‘No, I’m a pretty selective friend.
‘Like, a lot of my friends are friends that I’ve had since I was, you know, in high school or whatever. I mean, I have new friends too but I’m not, like, going out there trying to make friends.
To that, he then asked her what she was ‘doubting is real’ and she responded that it was her ‘feelings.’
The White Lotus star elaborated and explained how being an actor means she is good at ‘manipulating her feelings,’ a trait that Stern suggested is ‘dangerous.’
He spoke about confusing feelings and asked her about feeling competitive when dating someone else in the same career.
She said she ‘never really, like, really really dated an actor, like, been with an actor for a long time or anything like that.’
Back in 2021, she also spoke fondly of him while talking about being both work and life partners with him.
While making an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, she also spoke about their spontaneous nuptials during the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘It’s so great, it’s so complicated,’ she told the talk show host and fellow actor.
‘It’s, like, extreme highs and extreme, you know, complications. It’s a really hard thing to navigate, but we’ve been together for 11 years. We just muscle our way through it.’
She also spoke about how they got married in the tie-dye pajamas he made for them during the pandemic in their backyard.
That same year, she also told People that the Covid-19 pandemic strengthened their relationship.
‘We were quarantined for months and months like everybody else,’ she gushed. ‘And we did enjoy it. I think it was, obviously other than all of the catastrophic things happening in the world, just on a personal level, relationship level, was kind of nice to just be forced to be in one place for that long.’
Plaza recalled that they tied the knot spontaneously in front of an ‘altar of their love objects.’
Plaza taped the interview with Stern in September 2024, just months before her husband was found dead
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