Jeff Baena Biography

Jeff knew he wanted to work in film and direction at the start of his career. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, he moved to Los Angeles to establish a solid foundation. In the beginning, he worked with the award-winning director Robert Zemeckis as his production assistant. Under Zemeckis's guidance, Baena learned the basics of filmmaking and assisted in several of his mentor’s films. However, he was involved in an accident that resulted in a severe eye injury within two years of working with Zemeckis and decided to switch to screenwriting. During his recovery, he found inspiration in drawing ideas and discussing plotlines with Zemeckis. Eventually, he became the co-writer of the film I Heart Huckabees in 2004. The movie, directed by David O. Russell, starred Jason Schwartzman, Isabelle Huppert, Dustin Hoffman, Jude Law, and Naomi Watts. It was a critical success and praised for its unique story by many reviewers.

Despite the success of this film, Baena was not active for almost a decade as he immersed himself in developing an original script for his directorial debut. His dream came true ten years later when Life After Beth was released in 2014. The comedy-horror starred Aubrey Plaza, Molly Shannon, and Anna Kendrick and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. While the movie garnered attention, it was not received positively and was considered a flop. Prior to directing this film, Baena had appeared as a guest actor in Mark Webber's The End of Love in 2012. He made his second appearance as an actor in a minor role in Digging for Fire in 2015.

In 2016, Baena wrote and directed the comedy Joshy. While the movie was slated for an earlier release, Adam Pally’s health issues delayed it. It eventually premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2016, and was later acquired by Hulu for distribution. Despite a strong plot and improvisational acting, the movie did not fare well commercially.

His latest venture was the raunchy comedy The Little Hours, released in 2017. The Little Hours is a medieval comedy set in 14th-century Italy and is loosely based on Boccaccio’s The Decameron. It starred a host of comedy actors like Dave Franco, Molly Shannon, and John C. Reilly, as well as established actors like Alison Brie and Aubrey Plaza. The film received media attention due to its humorous story. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and was released to the public in June 2017. Despite a low budget, the film performed adequately at the box office. Many critics praised the performances by the lead actors and appreciated the refreshing plot. Overall, it was well received and continues to find an appreciative audience today. While Jeff had not announced any upcoming projects, he had hinted at his interest in working on challenging films and continued to explore new ideas and scripts until his passing in 2025.

Jeff Baena was born on June 29, 1977, in Miami, Florida, into a Jewish family. He was in a relationship with actress and comedian Aubrey Plaza beginning in 2011. Although the media speculated that the couple had separated in 2018 after Plaza was seen with Justin Theroux, these rumors were dispelled when the two were spotted together at various events. In 2021, after a decade together, they celebrated their union with an intimate backyard wedding ceremony.

In his spare time, Jeff loved playing tennis and was a member of The Interstate 5 Tennis Association. He also enjoyed hosting friends at home and playing board games such as Settlers of Catan and Battlestar Galactica. Aubrey, in an interview, described their shared "dorkish" tastes and low-key personalities.

On January 3, 2025, Baena’s assistant discovered him unresponsive at his Los Angeles residence, where he was later pronounced dead. He was 47. The Los Angeles County medical examiner confirmed the cause of death as suicide by hanging.