American writer-director Jeff Baena has passed away. He was 47.
He was known for the films Life After Beth, Joshy, The Little Hours, Horse Girl, Spin Me Round, and for co-writing David O. Russell's I Heart Huckabees.
The circumstances of his death are currently unclear. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office, Baena was found dead on Friday morning at his Los Angeles home. The office said a full report will be available only after a thorough investigation.
Baena was the husband of actress and producer Aubrey Plaza, to whom he had been married since 2021. He had dated Plaza for three years before she starred in Life After Beth.
Baena began his career as a production assistant for Robert Zemeckis after graduating from NYU Film School. He later worked as an assistant editor for writer-director David O. Russell before making his directorial debut with Life After Beth, which he also wrote. It premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.
He got nominated for the Grand Jury Prize again at Sundance again, for his next film, Joshy, which he wrote and directed.
Baena was nominated for the Audience Award at the 2017 Edinburgh International Film Festival for The Little Hours, which he wrote and directed.
In 2020, Baena co-wrote, directed, and produced Horse Girl, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was released on Netflix shortly after.
In 2022, his film Spin Me Round, written, directed and produced by him, premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival.
He also created the Showtime series Cinema Toast.
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.
