Aubrey Plaza's late husband Jeff Baena's heartbreaking obituary revealed
Jeff Baena's family have shared a heartbreaking obituary for the late filmmaker, who died by suicide aged 47 on 3 January. The husband of Agatha All Along star Aubrey Plaza was pronounced dead at his LA home after police and the fire brigade were called to the property.
In a piece published in The Miami Herald, where Jeff was born, his family described him as a "very special person," a "gifted filmmaker," and called his life "woefully short."
It read: "Jeff left us too soon, but despite his woefully too-short life, he left us with treasured memories of a gifted filmmaker, as well as a very special person on so many different levels… Jeff was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He attended Killian High School in Kendall, Florida.
"He graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 1999. Upon graduation, Jeff relocated to Los Angeles to pursue writing and directing movies." The obituary went on to describe Jeff's amazing career, including working as a production assistant before going on to write and direct.
He had lots more to offer. Alas, all that is gone.
It continued: "Jeff fell in love with film at 11 years old watching A Clockwork Orange and Fellini's 8 1/2, elements of which influenced his own movies decades later. His body of work is testimony to his keen intellect. Each of his films reflects a carefully crafted balance of the logical and the implausible.
"His juxtaposition of intellect and creativity challenged us. He embraced independent filmmaking because of his unalterable distaste for institutional guardrails on creativity. Those who worked with him praised his vision, taste, technical competence, and ability to coalesce actors into an ensemble that performs in perfect harmony. A family atmosphere always ensued. He loved nature and highlighted it cinematically in his films whenever and wherever possible."
The obituary listed Jeff's impressive body of work, including the Best Feature nomination I Heart Huckabees, Life After Beth, The Little Hours, Horse Girl, and Spin Me Round, and confirmed that Aubrey had starred in most of his movies.
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The piece also shared tidbits from Jeff's personal life, including his love of bringing friends together: "As much as anything else, Jeff loved the company of his friends, some from as far back as elementary school, and he most often was the organizer of game nights, poker nights, pool parties, basketball games, and get-togethers.
"Jeff was a true relationship builder with a gift for bringing people together on and off the movie set. His magic sauce was ensuring everyone was having fun, and no one ever left his get-togethers as a stranger. When he was a boy, Jeff loved reading The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Ironically, in it, the Little Prince exclaims, 'I haven't much time. I have friends to find and so many things to learn.' And so it was for Jeff."
It concluded by listing Jeff's family, including Aubrey, his parents Barbara and Scott, his brother Brad, step-siblings, nephews, and nieces.
It ends: "Jeff joins his beloved Stevie. We shall always love and deeply miss Jeff. His presence, as well as his work, made the world feel better. He had lots more to offer. Alas, all that is gone. Sweet dreams, our Little Prince."
Aubrey, who deleted her Instagram account following Jeff's passing, shared a statement via her representative which read: "This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time."
