Aubrey Plaza and her husband Jeff Baena posed with pals in fun-filled 2024 New Year’s snaps – a year before his tragic death by suicide

Aubrey Plaza and her husband Jeff Baena posed with friends in rare, fun New Year’s Eve snaps for 2024 – one year before his tragic death.

Filmmaker Jeff, 47, died by suicide at the Los Angeles home he shared with his actress wife Aubrey, 40.

In an update following his death on Friday, the LA County Medical Examiner’s Office said he died by hanging at their Los Feliz property.

A year earlier, things were very different as they spent time with their friends for New Year’s, including Criminal Minds star Matthew Gray Gubler.

He shared photos of their festivities on his Twitter account on January 8, 2024, as the couple happily enjoyed the celebrations.

They were seen sipping champagne, while Jeff and Matthew had a sweet photo together in front of a Christmas tree in a New York apartment building.

Sharing the photos, Matthew wrote in his caption: “My New Year’s resolution to ‘never be in public’ is off to a great start.”

Baena’s body was discovered by an assistant at the home they bought in 2022 and officers responded to the home at 10:25 a.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department told DailyMail.com.

“The death of an approximately 47-year-old man was confirmed, no transportation,” they said in a statement.

“We responded to the 2100 block of Fern Dale Place for a death investigation. Officers responded to a male deceased,” the Los Angeles Police Department added. The Life After Beth director was pronounced dead at the scene.

Baena’s family told them Term that they are devastated by the news and ask for privacy at this time.

The pair were last seen together on a walk last summer, six months before his tragic suicide. On July 5, they were spotted taking a walk in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park.

Dressed in casual walking clothes, the couple appeared relaxed in each other’s company as they visited the park, a favorite among locals.

Baena got into film after graduating from New York University with a film degree and moving to LA to launch his career.

He worked at a low level for major directors, including Robert Zemeckis and David O. Russell, as he gained a foothold in the industry. He worked as a production assistant for Zemeckis and as an assistant editor for Russell.

He is best known for directing Life After Beth, his directorial debut, which starred Plaza, and The Little Hours.

Baena also co-wrote I Heart Huckabees, which was nominated for a 2004 Gotham Award for Best Feature Film.

He also wrote Life After Beth, which premiered at Sundance in 2014. His film Joshy also premiered at the famous festival and was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize.

The Miami native also worked on Horse Girl and Spin Me Round.

Before his television works, he directed and produced the Showtime series Cinema Toast. He co-directed the product with his wife.

He had also previously spoken candidly about mental health ahead of the release of his 2020 film Horse Girl.

He was asked on a Reddit Ask Me Anything forum whether the film’s protagonist, Sarah, played by Alison Brie, to have been released from the psychiatric hospital and whether the scene was based on personal experiences.

Baena openly admitted that he watched his stepmother suffer from bipolar disorder, saying: “Unfortunately, people are released all the time while still in need of treatment,” he wrote in February 2020.

‘The mandatory 72-hour waiting period only applies to patients who pose a risk to themselves, so they must be released after that assessment period.

“My first stepmother had manic depression and was in and out of facilities in Miami due to the Baker Act (5150 in California).

“While I wouldn’t consider ‘Horse Girl’ an activist film, the themes of how we as a society and individuals treat people with mental illness were a major focus and motivation for making this film.”

Baena and Brie co-wrote the film about the latter’s family history with mental illness, particularly the actress’ grandmother, who suffered from schizophrenia.

“That was the original impetus for writing a story like this,” Brie, who is married to actor Dave Franco, wrote on the forum.

The director and husband of Aubrey Plaza also said that his family history with mental illness also influenced the film’s plot.

He secretly married The White Lotus star in 2020, almost a decade after they met, keeping their relationship largely out of the spotlight.

Plaza has not commented publicly on her husband’s death.

The actress’s latest Instagram post with her husband showed how “proud” she was of him.

In her last post with Baena, shared in May 2021, the award-winning actress praised her “sweet husband.”

“So proud of my sweet husband @jeffbaena for coming up with another movie that takes us to Italy to cause even more trouble,” she captioned the post.

The heartbreaking final post together saw the star couple gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes and was accompanied by screenshots from a Deadline article detailing their “new assignment”: the 2022 film Spin Me Round.

Baena is survived by his wife, his mother Barbra Stern, stepfather Roger Stern, his stepmother Michele Baena, his brother Brad Baena and his step-siblings Bianca Gabay and Jed Fluxman.

Aubrey was enjoying a New York Knicks Game just two days before his tragic death.

The actress sat front row at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on New Year’s Day to watch the home team play the Utah Jazz.

In a photo shared to the Knicks’ Instagram, Plaza was pictured wearing jeans, a black corduroy jacket and an orange cap over her straight, brunette locks.

“We’re starting the new year with our friends on the field,” the organization wrote alongside a carousel of high-profile fans including Tracee Ellis Ross, Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann and their daughter Maude and Keenan Michael Key.

It comes as Aubrey was scheduled to present at the 2025 Golden Globes, prior to the tragic death.