Although Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena were reportedly separated when he passed away at just 47, Hollywood actress Aubrey became concerned about the filmmaker’s welfare
Filmmaker Jeff Baena sent his estranged wife Aubrey Plaza a text message hours before he died, a medical examiner said.
The pair later spoke on the telephone on January 3 – before the director and screenwriter was found lifeless at a home close to a nature trail. The Los Angeles County medical examiner yesterday concluded Jeff, 47, took his own life after hearing circumstances around the death.
Aubrey, who was married to the director for three years until their split in 2024, became concerned about her estranged partner’s welfare in the months before his death. The report said Jeff, who wrote, directed and produced comedy Spin Me Round in 2022 and 2020 drama Horse Girl, attended therapy after Aubrey asked a friend to perform a welfare check on him late last year.
And the medical examiner said Aubrey, 40, “last knew her husband to be alive when he sent her a text message” on the morning of January 3, the date of his death, and spoke with him on the phone the same day.
But a dog walker discovered Jeff, born in Miami, Florida, lifeless that day and cause of his death determined as hanging. Aubrey, who met the writer at a game night, called the passing “an unimaginable tragedy” at the time.
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Aubrey and Jeff’s friendship upon meeting in 2011 quickly blossomed into a relationship, and they were frequent creative collaborators. Aubrey starred in four of her partner’s films and, in 2021, they tied the knot at a small ceremony in their garden. The actress, who is originally from Wilmington, Delaware, told The Ellen DeGeneres Show in December 2021 they made the decision to marry after getting “a little bored one night” during the Covid pandemic.
The performer was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2023 for her role in the second series of HBO dark comedy White Lotus and is also known for Disney+ series Agatha All Along. She has also starred in Hollywood films including Megalopolis, My Old Ass, Ingrid Goes West, Dirty Grandpa and Emily The Criminal.
Jeff’s career rocketed after praise for writing I Heart Huckabees and Meet the Fockers, both hits in 2004. He went on to write and direct Joshy, a comedy drama starring Thomas Middleditch in 2016.
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