Aubrey Plaza and filmmaker Jeff Baena’s relationship began in 2011 and developed into both a private partnership and a sustained creative collaboration. They worked together on films including Life After Beth, The Little Hours and Spin Me Round. Plaza publicly revealed that they had married in 2021. According to a Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner report later covered by major news outlets, the couple separated in September 2024. Baena died on January 3, 2025, at age 47; the medical examiner determined that his death was a suicide.
The public record does not establish every private milestone in their relationship. The timeline below separates what Plaza, Baena, their representatives or official records confirmed from details that emerged later through reporting.
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2011: Plaza and Baena began dating
Plaza and Baena began dating in 2011, according to contemporary profiles and later timeline reporting. Neither publicly provided a precise account of when or how they met. Some secondary biographies have described a game-night meeting, but that detail is less firmly documented than the year their relationship began.
From the beginning, the couple kept much of their personal life away from public view. They occasionally appeared together and discussed their work, but they did not build their relationship around frequent social-media updates or detailed public disclosures.
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2014: Life After Beth established their creative partnership
Baena wrote and directed Life After Beth, his feature directorial debut, while Plaza starred in the film. The project was an early and important example of the way their personal and professional lives overlapped: Baena was establishing himself as an independent filmmaker, and Plaza was taking on a central role in his first feature behind the camera.
The film also helped define the offbeat, darkly comic sensibility associated with their collaborations. Rather than functioning only as a celebrity couple, Plaza and Baena repeatedly worked within the same independent-film world, with each maintaining a distinct professional identity.
2016–2017: Their public creative partnership became more visible
Their collaboration became more prominent with The Little Hours. Baena wrote and directed the film, while Plaza acted and served as a producer. The cast included Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon and Fred Armisen.
Loosely inspired by stories from Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, The Little Hours combined irreverent comedy with a medieval setting. Plaza’s dual role as performer and producer made the project especially revealing of their working relationship: Baena led the writing and directing, while Plaza contributed both in front of the camera and in the production process.
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In a 2019 interview later cited by entertainment outlets, Plaza discussed some of the advantages of being with someone who worked in the same field. She said that a partner in the same profession could understand the pressures and demands of a career in entertainment.
At the same time, Plaza emphasized the importance of independence and taking breaks from one another. Her comments offered one of the clearest public glimpses into how she viewed the relationship: shared professional understanding could be valuable, but it did not eliminate the need for separate space and individual lives.
That distinction matters because the couple’s public work together did not amount to a complete record of their private relationship. Plaza’s comments described general principles and her own perspective; they did not provide a detailed account of the couple’s domestic life.
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Baena directed and co-wrote Horse Girl, with Alison Brie as co-writer and star. Netflix identified the film as a 2020 independent drama. Plaza was also connected to Baena’s wider creative circle and later collaborated with him on Cinema Toast, an anthology project created during the COVID-19 production shutdown period.
The pandemic disrupted conventional film production, making projects such as Cinema Toast an example of how filmmakers adapted their creative work during an unusual period. Plaza and Baena’s professional connection continued within that broader community, although the available record does not establish that every project associated with Baena was a joint project with Plaza.
May 2021: Plaza publicly revealed that they were married
On May 7, 2021, Plaza referred to Baena as her “darling husband” in an Instagram caption celebrating his next film project. Entertainment media subsequently reported that representatives for the couple confirmed they were married.
The announcement did not disclose the precise wedding date or provide a full account of the ceremony. Later interviews and entertainment reporting described the marriage as private and said the couple had been together for about a decade, but those later accounts should be distinguished from the original public confirmation.
In other words, it is well supported that Plaza and Baena were married by May 2021. The exact date, location and circumstances of the wedding have not been publicly established in a detailed official account.
2021–2022: Marriage and film work continued side by side
Baena and Plaza remained connected through independent film after the marriage announcement. Baena directed Spin Me Round, a 2022 film distributed in North America by IFC Films and associated with AMC+. Plaza was among the cast.
Spin Me Round became the last major feature collaboration between Plaza and Baena released during his lifetime. Its place in the timeline illustrates the central pattern of their relationship: they could be partners privately while also contributing to the same professional network, without presenting every aspect of their lives to the public.
September 2024: Their separation became part of the public record
Plaza and Baena separated in September 2024, according to a Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner report later reported by ABC News and other outlets in March 2025. Reporting on the document also said that the couple had experienced recent marital difficulties and that Plaza moved to New York after the separation.
These details came to public attention through reporting on an official medical-examiner document, not through a joint statement from Plaza and Baena at the time of the separation. It is therefore more accurate to say that the report stated they had separated than to present a complete private explanation for the end of the marriage.
Reporting on the same document said that, in October 2024, Baena made concerning remarks and Plaza asked a friend to check on his well-being. That account should not be treated as evidence of causation, blame or responsibility. The public record does not support assigning responsibility for what happened later, and speculation about private communications or alleged infidelity should not be presented as fact.
January 3, 2025: Baena died at age 47
Baena was found dead at a Los Angeles-area residence on January 3, 2025. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner determined that his death was a suicide. The Associated Press and other major outlets confirmed his death and identified Plaza as his former creative and marital partner.
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Baena should be remembered as a filmmaker in his own right, not only as Plaza’s husband. His work included writing and directing Life After Beth, The Little Hours, Horse Girl and Spin Me Round, as well as his involvement in projects such as Cinema Toast. His collaboration with Plaza was an important part of the story, but it was not the whole of his professional identity.
January 2025: Plaza and the families issued a statement
Following Baena’s death, Plaza and the Baena and Stern families described the loss as an “unimaginable tragedy” and expressed gratitude for the support they had received. The statement was Plaza’s most direct public comment about the death at that point.
The family statement did not provide a detailed account of the separation or of Baena’s final months. Respecting that distinction is important: grief, marriage history and the circumstances surrounding a death are separate parts of the public record, and one should not be used to fill gaps in another.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.2025–2026: Plaza spoke about grief and began a new chapter
In August 2025, Plaza spoke publicly about grief in an appearance connected to Amy Poehler. She described grief as an ongoing daily struggle. Her remarks reflected the continuing impact of Baena’s death without offering a comprehensive public narrative about their marriage or separation.
In April 2026, Plaza’s representative confirmed to People that she was expecting her first child with actor Christopher Abbott. Reporting dated August 10, 2026, said that Plaza had welcomed the child.
Those later developments belong in a brief current-status epilogue rather than being used to reinterpret the private chronology of Plaza’s marriage to Baena. The documented timeline remains: a relationship beginning in 2011, years of creative collaboration, a marriage publicly confirmed in 2021, a separation reported as occurring in September 2024, and Baena’s death in January 2025.
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The confirmed timeline at a glance
| Period | What is publicly documented |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Plaza and Baena began dating. |
| 2014 | They collaborated on Life After Beth, Baena’s feature directorial debut. |
| 2016–2017 | They worked on The Little Hours, with Baena writing and directing and Plaza acting and producing. |
| 2019 | Plaza discussed the value of shared professional understanding, independence and personal space. |
| 2020 | Baena worked on Horse Girl; Plaza and Baena later collaborated on Cinema Toast. |
| May 2021 | Plaza publicly referred to Baena as her husband; representatives confirmed the marriage. |
| 2021–2022 | They remained connected professionally, including through Spin Me Round. |
| September 2024 | The medical examiner’s report, later reported by news outlets, stated that they had separated. |
| January 3, 2025 | Baena died at age 47; his death was ruled a suicide. |
| 2025–2026 | Plaza discussed grief publicly, and later reporting described developments in her family life. |
Sensitive-content note: This article refers to suicide. If you or someone you know may be in immediate danger, contact local emergency services or a crisis service in your country. In the United States and Canada, call or text 988.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena start dating?
Plaza and Baena began dating in 2011. The pair did not publicly establish a precise date or detailed account of how they met.
When did Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena get married?
Plaza publicly revealed that Baena was her husband on May 7, 2021, and representatives confirmed that they were married. The exact wedding date and ceremony details were not publicly disclosed in that announcement.
Which films did Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena work on together?
Their best-documented collaborations include Life After Beth, The Little Hours, Cinema Toast and Spin Me Round. Plaza acted in and produced The Little Hours, while Baena wrote and directed it.
When did Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena separate?
A Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner report, later covered by ABC News and other outlets, stated that they separated in September 2024. The couple had not publicly announced the separation at that time.
How did Jeff Baena die?
Baena died on January 3, 2025, at age 47. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner determined that his death was a suicide.
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The Bottom Line
Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena’s story was defined by more than their marriage. From 2011 until their reported separation in 2024, they built a private partnership alongside a notable independent-film collaboration, with Baena writing and directing and Plaza acting, producing and contributing to the creative network around his work. The public record confirms the broad chronology, but it does not justify speculation about the private causes of their separation or Baena’s death.
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