Filmmaker Jeff Baena passed away at the age of 47. His most well-known works includes Life After Beth (2014), Joshy (2016), and The Little Hours (2017). The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office reported that his body was discovered at a home in Los Angeles on Friday. It was not immediately clear about the cause of death.
About Jeff Baena
He was married to Aubrey Plaza, who acted in his movies Life After Beth and The Little Hours, a 2017 black comedy set in a monastery from the 14th century. Born and raised in Miami, after graduating from New York University’s film school, he relocated to Los Angeles to start his career in entertainment.
In a 2017 interview with podcaster Marc Maron, Jeff, he had revealed that his early exposure to Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2 and Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange ignited his interest in movies. In an interview with Jim Alexander for the Reel Talker YouTube channel two years ago, he stated, “I was always drawn to left-of-center things.”
He said, “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.”
Before Audrey acted in his 2014 directing debut, the zombie comedy Life After Beth, he had been dating her for three years.
Jeff’s body of work
Jeff has directed the dark comedy Spin Me Round in 2022, which starred Allison Brie, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Additionally, Allison and Jeff worked together on the 2020 psychological drama Horse Girl. In addition, he directed the dramedy Joshy, which starred Nick Kroll, Adam Pally, and Thomas Middleditch.
Additionally, he co-wrote the 2004 David O. Russell film I Heart Huckabees, which humorously explored existentialism. Streaming platforms including Netflix, IFC, and Lionsgate released his works, and they were screened at major film festivals like Sundance and South by Southwest.
The filmmaker is survived by Audrey, his father, Scott Baena; stepmother, Michele Baena; mother, Barbara Stern; and stepfather, Roger Stern, and Jed Fluxman and Bianca Gabay: stepsiblings.
