How did Jeff Baena die? Aubrey Plaza breaks silence about husband's tragic death for the first time on Amy Poehler's podcast

American actress and comedian Aubrey Plaza recently spoke for the first time about the tragic death of her husband, Jeff Baena, on the podcast Good Hang With Amy Poehler on Tuesday, August 19, 2025.

Aubrey and Amy co-starred on the sitcom Parks and Recreation, which aired from 2009 to 2015. When the podcast host asked:

“So, you've had this terrible, terrible, tragic year. You lost your husband. You've been dealing with that, and you've been looking for all different ways in which to feel and find support. And I think I would on behalf of all the people who feel like they know they know you and the people who do know you, how are you feeling today?”

Aubrey Plaza responded:

“I mean, right in this very present moment, I feel happy to be with you. I feel overall I'm here and I'm functioning, and I feel, you know, like I feel really grateful to be moving through the world. I think like I'm okay, but you know, it's like a daily struggle.”

According to People, Jeff Baena died on January 3, 2025. The cause of death for the writer and director, per the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, was ruled a su*cide by hanging. Baena was 47 and reportedly found deceased at his home in Los Angeles.

As per People, the actress and Baena's family released a statement following his death. Calling his passing an “unimaginable tragedy,” they expressed deep gratitude to everyone for their “support” and asked for “privacy” during the time.

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Aubrey Plaza says her grief is like a giant ocean of “awfulness”

The Agatha All Along actress also talked about the grieving process of her husband, Jeff Baena. During her interview with Amy Poehler, she compared her grief with the Apple sci-fi horror The Gorge.

Calling her description of the aftermath of her husband’s death a “really dumb analogy,” Aubrey Plaza added:

“Did you see that movie The Gorge?... It's like a alien movie or something with like Miles Teller. There's like a cliff on one side, and then there's like a cliff on the other side, and then there's like gorge in between, and it's like filled with all these like monster people that are trying to get them.”

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The actress further explained:

“I swear, when I watched it, I was like, that is like feels like what my grief is… It's like at all times there's like a giant like ocean of just awfulness that's like right there and I can like see it and like sometimes I just want to like just dive into it and just like be in it and then sometimes I just like look at it and then sometimes I'm like I just try to get away from it but it's always there.”

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According to CNN, Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena tied the knot in 2021. The two had collaborated on several projects, including the 2014 horror-comedy Life After Beth, the 2017 historical comedy The Little Hours, the 2021 comedy series Cinema Toast, and the 2022 film Spin Me Round.