Aubrey Plaza Opens Up About Jeff Baena’s Death

American actress Aubrey Plaza has opened up about her grief, seven months after the death of her ex-husband, director Jeff Baena. Baena, a writer, director, and producer, died in January at the age of 47, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.

Plaza spoke for the first time about the impact of the loss during an interview on the Good Hang podcast, hosted by her former Parks and Recreation co-star, Amy Poehler.

“I think I’m okay,” said Plaza, but she compared grief to “a giant ocean of terror.”

“Sometimes I just want to jump into it and be there. Then sometimes I just look at it, and sometimes I try to run away from it. But it’s always there,” she added.

According to the BBC, Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena married in 2021 after collaborating on Life After Beth (2014) and the historical comedy The Little Hours (2017). Baena was found dead at his home in Los Angeles in January 2025.

Plaza also described her grief through an analogy with her upcoming film The Gorge (2025), starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy as snipers guarding opposite sides of a mysterious canyon. “When I saw it, I thought — this feels like my grief,” she said.

The couple had separated in September 2024, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s investigation.

Plaza, 41, is known for her roles in The White Lotus and Marvel’s Agatha All Along, and is currently promoting her new film Honey Don’t!
Jeff Baena was best known for writing I Heart Huckabees (2004) and directing Joshy (2016), The Little Hours (2017), and Horse Girl (2020).