The indie writer-director was found dead at a home close to the Fern Dell Nature Trail near the Hollywood Hills. Examiner ruled his cause of death as suicide.
Baena is best known for his work on several indie darlings including David O’ Russell’s star-studded I Heart Huckabees (2004) and the zombie horror-comedy Life After Beth (2014), which starred his future wife Aubrey Plaza. The pair would go on to collaborate again on Baena’s sophomore directorial effort The Little Hours (2017) and in creating Cinema Toast, a quirky anthology series where Plaza also acted and directed.
The actress, best known as the star of Parks and Recreation and The White Lotus, has released a statement addressing the heartbreaking loss.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy,” read the statement. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”
Before the filmmaker’s demise, Plaza was scheduled to present at the 2025 Golden Globe ceremony on Sunday. That plan had understandably been scrapped ever since.
Baena and Plaza had been together since 2011. The couple tied the knot in 2021 after a decade together. In an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Plaza recalled how they “got a little bored one night” during the COVID pandemic, decided to find a wedding officiant online and got married right in their yard.
Aside from his wife, Baena is survived by his mother Barbara Stern and stepfather Roger Stern; father Scott and stepmother Michele Baena; brother Brad Baena; stepsister Bianca Gabay and stepbrother Jed Fluxman.