Jeff Baena, a writer and director who was also married to Aubrey Plaza, has died, PEOPLE can confirm. He was 47.
Law enforcement sources told TMZ that an assistant discovered Baena’s body at a Los Angeles-area home around 10:30 a.m. local time on Friday, Jan. 3. He was pronounced dead at the scene, per the outlet.
According to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner, the manner of Baena’s death was ruled a suicide by hanging.
Representatives for Baena did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena in June 2017. Monica Schipper/FilmMagic
Baena was born and raised in Miami. He later attended film school at New York University and moved to Los Angeles shortly after graduating to begin his career in entertainment.
Baena has more than a dozen directing and film credits to his name.
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Most notably, he co-wrote the 2004 film I Heart Huckabees starring Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law and Naomi Watts. Not long after, he made his directorial debut by writing and directing Life After Beth, a zombie comedy starring Plaza, 40.
Later on, Baena created an anthology series titled Cinema Toast, which aired on Showtime in 2021 and marked Plaza’s own directorial debut.
Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza in May 2016. David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty
Baena met and started dating Plaza in 2011. They kept their relationship very private over the years, never announcing their engagement or wedding.
The world learned that the two had tied the knot in May 2021, when Plaza referred to Baena as her “darling husband” in an Instagram post.
“So proud of my darling husband @jeffbaena for dreaming up another film that takes us to italia to cause some more trouble,” her caption read.
A rep later confirmed to PEOPLE that the couple had tied the knot.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
