Hollywood star's famous husband, 47, found dead at home as police launch probe

Hollywood star Aubrey Plaza's husband Jeff Baena has died at the age of 47.

The filmmaker, who married the 40-year-old actress in 2020, was reportedly found dead inside his Los Angeles home. His cause of death is not yet known and it's believed police have launched an investigation.

According to TMZ, the Los Angeles police and fire department received a phone call from Baena's assistant on Friday (January 3) at around 10.30am. The director and screenwriter was confirmed dead when cops arrived on the scene.

Baena's family have been left "devastated" by the loss and have asked for privacy, says US outlet Deadline. His cause of death has now been confirmed as suicide.

Baena was best known for producing indie films such as Life After Beth (2014), The Little Hours (2017) and Horse Girl (2020). He frequently worked on these movies with wife Aubrey, who shot to fame in NBC's hit sitcom Parks and Recreation.

Plaza was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her role as lawyer Harper in HBO's series The White Lotus. She also appeared in major movies like Edgar Wright's 2010 hit Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, where she starred alongside Michael Cera.

She married Baena in 2020 after being with him for a decade. She announced the news in May of 2021 in an Instagram post about a film they were working on called Spin Me Round (2022).

She wrote: "So proud of my darling husband @jeffbaena for dreaming up another film that takes us to italia to cause some more trouble [devil emoji]."

Plaza previously discussed their marriage and how they can relate to one another, given they work in the same field. She told People: "I think that when you’re with someone that is in your field, they understand what you’re dealing with on a deeper level.

"So obviously you are able to support each other and really understand kind of the journey that we’re both on." Aubrey starred in several of Jeff's films, including Life After Beth, Spin Me Round, and The Little Hours.

In 2014, Baena spoke of his life's ambition to direct movies after his directorial debut Life After Beth. He told Seensome: "It’s all I ever want to do; it felt really comfortable and fun.

"I’ve been a writer for twelve years now and it was always a means to an end, I never wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be a director so this was always my intention and it felt right."