Aubrey Plaza has been supported by Hollywood stars in the wake of her husband Jess Baena’s death.
Adrien Brody, Selma Blair, Julia Fox and Alison Brie are amongst those who have rallied around the actress, 40, after the director was found dead last Friday morning at a Los Angeles home.
According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, his death is being ruled a suicide by hanging.
On Monday, Aubrey, who had been with Jeff since 2011 and married for three years, called his death an ‘unimaginable tragedy’.
‘This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time’, she said in a short statement.
At the Golden Globes on Sunday, The Brutalist director Brady Corbet mentioned Aubrey in his acceptance speech after winning Best Director.
Aubrey Plaza has been supported by Hollywood stars in the wake of her husband Jess Baena’s death (pictured together in 2014)
Adrien Brody (pictured), Selma Blair , Julia Fox and Alison Brie are amongst those who have rallied around the actress, 40. Adrien is pictured here looking emotional at the Golden Globes
The Brutalist filmmaker Brady Corbet, 36, mentioned the actress Aubrey following Jeff’s shock death
Brady said: ‘Finally, tonight my heart is with Aubrey Plaza and Jeff’s family – good night’.
As the camera panned around to the audience, Adrien, who plays the leading role in the film, fought back tears.
While Jeff had not received any Golden Globe nominations in his career, he was shortlisted for the Grand Jury Prize for two of his films at the Sundance Film Festival. They included Joshy in 2016 and Life After Beth in 2014.
Aubrey has also been flooded with condolences on her last Instagram post which was promoting a Christmas card design.
‘No words can touch this painful time,’ Selma, 52, wrote, while Julia, 34, commented: ‘Sending you so much love’ with an emoji of a dove.
Actress Alison, 42, shared a series of images of Baena on her Instagram Stories, adding an emoji of a broken heart.
She also reposted a statement from actor-comedian Adam Pally, 42, a friend and collaborator of Jeff’s who lauded him on a personal and professional level.
‘He was a collaborator, a mentor, the scrappiest basketball player with the ugliest jump shot you ever saw,’ said Pally. ‘He was a talented director with impeccable taste and vision, he was a connector of people, a fosterer of possibility, the guy who knows where the best restaurant was no matter where you were.
‘An overly gracious host with an almost disturbing open door policy, a film encyclopedia, and most importantly to me a friend.’
Colleagues such as Selma Blair (left) and Julia Fox (right) were among the people to offer the actress-producer comforting words in the wake of the family tragedy
A number of other people in the entertainment industry offered Plaza kind words
She added, ‘My heart breaks for my friend Aubrey and the Baena family and for all of us who spent time on his sets or at his house or in or in his orbit. Thanks for believing in me Jeff, may your memory be a blessing.’
Actress-producer Barbara Crampton, 66, wrote to Aubrey, ‘So sorry. I hope the love of others can hold you up.’
Actor-model Rain Dove, 35, added, ‘Aubrey we love you so much and it’s absolutely devastating to hear the news about Your beloved.
‘We truly wish You lots of protection in this time. Take all the space You need to process this. Don’t succumb to and pressure to return to work any sooner than feels right.’
Jeff, whose darkly comedic independent films included The Little Hours, co-wrote David O. Russell’s 2004 film I Heart Huckabees and wrote and directed five of his own films, four of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
He had been dating the actress years before she starred in his 2014 directorial debut, the zombie comedy Life After Beth.
His next film, 2016’s Joshy, featured Thomas Middleditch as a man who gets together with friends months after his fiancée commits suicide.
The couple, who began dating in 2011, married in 2021. The pair pictured at a May 2016 private party in Silverlake, California
The son of an attorney and teacher, Jeffgrew up in Miami and attended film school at New York University.
He told podcaster Marc Maron in a 2017 interview that his interest in cinema was sparked after watching Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2 as a child.
‘I was always drawn to left-of-center things,’ he told Jim Alexander two years ago in an interview for the Reel Talker YouTube channel.
Jeff said in the same interview that it was ‘amazing’ to work with Aubrey, who appeared in four of his five films.
Aubrey rose to fame playing April Ludgate on the television series Parks and Recreation and was nominated for an Emmy for her role on The White Lotus.
The couple, who began dating in 2011, married in 2021.
Jeff is survived by Plaza; his mother, Barbara Stern, stepfather Roger Stern, father Scott, stepmother Michele, brother Brad and stepsiblings Bianca Gabay and Jed Fluxman, his representative said.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
