In the wake of Jeff Baena’s untimely and sudden death, fans are looking back at some of the most touching comments he made about working with his wife, Aubrey Plaza.
“My first movie was a big learning experience on all fronts, and so working with her was a benefit because we have a shorthand and a close relationship,” Baena, who was 47 when he was found deceased in his home on Friday, January 3, once said in an August 2022 interview with Newsweek.
“As I’ve made more and more stuff, I’ve come to appreciate everything that she brings,” the late filmmaker continued at the time. “She’s insanely talented and so smart and obviously really good at producing. And she’s writing. There are very few people who can wear as many hats as her, as elegantly as she does.”
Baena had worked on several films alongside Plaza, 40, including Life After Beth, which served as his directorial debut.
“At this point, I think we kind of have it worked out,” Baena told Newsweek, referring to his time working with Plaza on the film Spin Me Around, which Baena both co-wrote and directed. “We’ve done it four times.”
In the same interview, Baena gushed about his wife, telling the outlet that he thinks “everything she does is amazing” and that “generally people point her out in whatever project she’s in as being the best part.”
“She’s, like, insanely talented and I’m very lucky to have her in my life,” Baena added.
On Saturday, January 4, news broke of Baena’s passing. According to medical records reviewed by Us Weekly, the filmmaker died by suicide and no additional causes or special circumstances related to his death were listed. Plaza has not publicly commented on her husband’s passing.
In the same 2022 interview with Newsweek, Plaza opened up about how difficult — and rewarding — it can be to work with a spouse.
“It’s a really hard thing to do, first of all, be married in this business and to be in the same business and then to work together is another level of challenge,” she said at the time. “But we have done it a couple times now and we work well together. It changes movie to movie, how we approach it. But we’ve made it this far.”
Plaza and Baena started dating in 2011 before tying the knot in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. During a December 2021 appearance on the Ellen Degeneres Show, Plaza opened up about her nuptials.
“A lot of things happened during COVID for me. Yes, we got married. Big deal,” Plaza said at the time. “We got a little bored one night. We got married and I’ll tell you how: Onehourmarriage.com. That’s real, look it up.”
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