Aubrey Plaza was flooded with condolences following the tragic death of her spouse Jeff Baena at the age of 47.
Colleagues such as Julia Fox and Selma Blair were among the people to offer the actress-producer, 40, comforting words in the wake of the family tragedy.
Baena was found dead Friday morning at a Los Angeles home, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, with his death being ruled ruled a suicide by hanging.
‘No words can touch this painful time,’ Blair, 52, said in an Instagram comment thread adjacent to Plaza’s most recent post December 24.
Fox, 34, wrote in the thread, ‘Sending you so much love’ with an emoji of a dove.
Actress Alison Brie, 42, shared a series of images of Baena on her Instagram Stories, adding an emoji of a broken heart.
Aubrey Plaza, 40, was flooded with condolences following the tragic death of her spouse Jeff Baena at the age of 47. Pictured in NYC last month
Baena and Plaza began dating in 2011 and wed in 2021; pictured in LA in June of 2017Â
She also reposted a statement from actor-comedian Adam Pally, 42, a friend and collaborator of Baena’s who lauded him on a personal and professional level.
‘He was a collaborator, a mentor, the scrappiest basketball player with the ugliest jump shot you ever saw,’ said Pally. ‘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.’
Pally wrapped up in saying, ‘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 or in his orbit. Thanks for believing in me Jeff, may your memory be a blessing.’
On Plaza’s Instagram, actress-producer Barbara Crampton, 66, wrote to Plaza, ‘So sorry. I hope the love of others can hold you up.’
Actor-model Rain Dove, 35, wrote, ‘Aubrey we love You so much and it’s absolutely devastating to hear the news about Your beloved.
‘We truly wish You lots of protection in this time. Take all the space You need to process this. Don’t succumb to and pressure to return to work any sooner than feels right.’
Baena, whose darkly comedic independent films included The Little Hours, co-wrote David O. Russell’s 2004 film I Heart Huckabees and wrote and directed five of his own films, four of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Colleagues such as Julia Fox and Selma Blair were among the people to offer the actress-producer comforting words in the wake of the family tragedy
Blair, pictured in London last month, wrote to Plaza that she was ‘so sorry’ amid the tragedyÂ
Fox, seen in NYC in November, said she was sending Plaza love amid the tragic time
He had been dating Plaza for three years before she starred in his 2014 directorial debut, the zombie comedy Life After Beth.Â
His next film, 2016’s Joshy, featured Thomas Middleditch as a man who gets together with friends months after his fiancée commits suicide.
The son of an attorney and teacher, Baena grew up in Miami and attended film school at New York University.Â
He told podcaster Marc Maron in a 2017 interview that his interest in cinema was sparked after watching Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2 as a child.
‘I was always drawn to left-of-center things,’ he told Jim Alexander two years ago in an interview for the Reel Talker YouTube channel.
Baena said in the same interview that it was ‘amazing’ to work with Plaza, who appeared in four of his five films.Â
A number of other people in the entertainment industry offered Plaza kind wordsÂ
Plaza rose to fame playing April Ludgate on the television series Parks and Recreation and was nominated for an Emmy for her role on The White Lotus.Â
The couple, who began dating in 2011, married in 2021.
‘The opportunities to create together, to do something creative where we’re both fulfilled, it’s like, how rare is that? She’s down and she’s so talented, so I’m really lucky,’ Baena said.
A representative for Plaza said that in addition to Plaza, Baena is survived by his mother, Barbara Stern, stepfather Roger Stern, father Scott Baena, stepmother Michele Baena, brother Brad Baena and stepsiblings Bianca Gabay and Jed Fluxman.
This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.