Who Is Aubrey Plaza's Husband, Jeff Baena?
In a very on-brand way, Aubrey Plaza announced that she and her long-time partner, Jeff Baena, had gotten married. In an ultra-casual Instagram post, Plaza posted a photo of herself and Baena with the caption: "So proud of my darling husband..." The post wasn't even dedicated to their marriage announcement; Plaza was talking about a project that they were working on together.
Plaza's career has skyrocketed over the last several years after playing the grumpy April Ludgate on "Parks and Recreation." But this persona is something that's stuck to Plaza without being an accurate representation of who she really is. "When I meet people for the first time, they can't believe I'm not going to be mean," she told The Cut. "They'll do a thing where they'll be kind of mean to me, and I can tell they think that that's what I'm like." But Plaza managed to doge being typecast as the mean girl, thanks in part to her collaborations with her screenwriter husband. Who better to have on your side than your own partner? Baena is notoriously private -– his social media included -– but there's enough to know about him to at least get a glimpse of the man lucky enough to call himself Plaza's husband.
Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza love working together
Aubrey Plaza's husband, Jeff Baena, works as a writer, producer, and director. He co-wrote the 2004 film "I Heart Huckabees," and told Reel Talker that the film was his first credit as a writer. Following that, Baena was working in studio writing jobs until 2014, when he wrote and directed "Life After Beth," a zombie-comedy with Plaza in the title role. Baena proves that he can wear many hats and loves involving his wife; he wrote and directed the 2016 film "Joshy," where Plaza played the character Jen. He co-wrote and directed "The Little Hours," about a convent full of nuns and, you guessed it, Plaza was a main character. He wrote and directed the 2022 rom-com "Spin Me Round," and Plaza's in that too.
So what's it like working as a couple? Baena told Reel Talker that it was the best experience. "She's awesome," he said of Plaza. "I'd be working with her if she wasn't my wife, but luckily she's my wife." He added, "The opportunity to do something creative [together] where we're both fulfilled—how rare is that?" Plaza has said the same about working with Baena. "I think that when you're with someone that is in your field, they understand what you're dealing with on a deeper level," she told People. But she said that it can get close at times, and so they're both aware of the importance of doing things separately from time to time.
How an eye injury led to Jeff Baena's big break
Jeff Baena grew up in Miami and attended NYU's film school and eventually took a job in Los Angeles as an assistant editor to David O. Russell. The job was a great lead, but it wasn't what Baena wanted to do, which was work as a writer and director. One day, while Baena was driving to work, he got into a car accident, which left debris in Baena's eye. While at work with Russell, Baena was in so much pain that he couldn't work as an assistant editor. After a doctor's visit, Baena couldn't drive and so he and Russell spent the day talking, and the experience led to Baena getting his first script-writing job with Russell for "I Heart Huckabees." "For him to consider me a collaborator at all gave me such a confidence boost," Baena told Fast Company of Russell.
But Russell isn't the only director who shaped Baena. While speaking with Reel Talker, Baena said, "The reason I became a filmmaker is because of [Federico] Fellini," the legendary Italian filmmaker. He said that as a kid, he consumed European films and it influenced his later aesthetic, and certainly influenced Baena's ongoing love for Italy. This was why he chose to film "The Little Hours" in Italy because he loves it so much.