Who Is Aubrey Plaza's Husband? All About Jeff Baena

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Aubrey Plaza found both a career and life partner in her husband Jeff Baena.

The ultra-private couple have been together since 2011 and secretly tied the knot in 2021. In addition to being spouses, the pair have collaborated on many work projects together, including the 2022 film Spin Me Round, which was written and directed by Baena and stars Plaza.

The actress, who currently stars in the second season of HBO's hit show The White Lotus, credits much of her success to the support of her husband and frequent collaborator.

"I think that when you're with someone that is in your field, they understand what you're dealing with on a deeper level. So obviously you are able to support each other and really understand kind of the journey that we're both on," Plaza told PEOPLE in 2019. She went on to say that while "working with your partner can always be challenging," it's "all about balance."

So, who is Plaza's director husband? Here is everything to know about Jeff Baena and his relationship — both personal and professional — with Aubrey Plaza.

He's a writer and director

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Baena is a writer and a director with more than a dozen credits to his name. Most notably, Baena co-wrote the 2004 film I Heart Huckabees starring Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law and Naomi Watts. Shortly after, he made his directorial debut, writing and directing Life After Beth, a zombie comedy starring Plaza.

Of the experience, Baena told Seensome during a 2014 interview, "It's all I ever want to do; it felt really comfortable and fun. I've been a writer for twelve years now and it was always a means to an end, I never wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be a director so this was always my intention and it felt right."

More recently, Baena created an anthology series titled Cinema Toast, which aired on Showtime in 2021 and marked Plaza's directorial debut. His latest project, Spin Me Round, was a comedy film starring Plaza, Alison Brie, Debby Ryan and Molly Shannon. The film is about a woman (Brie) who works as the manager of an Italian restaurant and gets an opportunity to attend an educational immersion program in Italy where things soon go awry.

He studied film at New York University

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Baena was born and raised in Miami, where he was exposed to cinema and culture at a young age, as he told Fast Company during a 2016 interview. He attended film school at New York University and moved to Los Angeles shortly after graduating to begin his career in entertainment.

Once in L.A., Baena moved into an apartment and started applying for assistant roles. He worked for film directors Robert Zemeckis and David O. Russell before branching out on his own.

A minor car accident helped shape his career

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It took some time for Baena to find his own footing in the competitive world of film. However, during his time working for Russell, Baena was involved in a minor car accident. Though he wasn't seriously injured, debris from the accident got in his eye and he sought medical attention.

As the two directors explained to Fast Company, Russell helped take care of Baena on the day of the accident and the two got to talking. From their conversations, they formed a collaboration that would take Baena from an assistant to a screenwriter. Russell and Baena then wrote a few scripts together, one of which was I Heart Huckabees.

In his interview with Seensome, Baena noted that Russell had a "tremendous influence" on his career.

He married Plaza in 2021

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In 2011, Baena met and started dating Plaza, though little is known about the beginning of their relationship. Baena and Plaza managed to keep their romance away from the public eye over the years, and never announced an engagement or plans for a wedding. The world learned that the two had tied the knot in May 2021, when Plaza referred to Baena as her "darling husband" in an Instagram post.

"So proud of my darling husband @jeffbaena for dreaming up another film that takes us to italia to cause some more trouble," her caption read. A rep later confirmed to PEOPLE that the couple had tied the knot.

They've collaborated numerous times

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Baena and Plaza have worked together on several projects over the years, including Life After Beth (2014), Joshy (2016), The Little Hours (2017) and Spin Me Round (2022).

"I'd say it's an amazing experience to work with your partner in this way. I've worked with Jeff since his first movie. I've seen him evolve and I've seen him grow. It's a really special dynamic that we have. It's challenging at times but it's also really rewarding to do something together like this," Plaza told MovieFreak.com in 2017.

In an interview with PEOPLE, Plaza revealed that she and Baena created their show Cinema Toast together while they were quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our house became this strange post-production facility and he's downstairs on his Zooms or on his sessions and I'm upstairs editing, we're just going back and forth," Plaza explained. "Yeah, it was very us. We were not baking sourdough bread, but we were sifting through hours of old movies and footage and re-cutting them together and just letting our minds go on a trip. So it was great."

They keep their relationship private

Aubrey Plaza Instagram

Plaza and Baena do their best to keep their personal lives off of the internet and out of the public eye. Though Plaza is active on Instagram, she hardly ever shares photos of her husband. On Valentine's Day 2020, however, the actress gave fans a rare glimpse into their romance. Alongside a photo of herself holding a dagger up to Baena's chin while peering up at him, Plaza wrote simply, "and happy valentine's day 🖤." Baena has an Instagram account himself, but it remains private.

"I mean, I don't like, you know, talking super personal about our relationship, honestly," Plaza said in the couple's joint interview with MovieFreak.com.

Plaza mentioned Baena briefly during her interview with GQ in November 2022.

"I've been with my husband for 12 years. I relate to being in a relationship that has peaks and valleys, and going through a rough patch and comparing yourself to another couple that seems perfect," the actress said when listing all the things that she and her White Lotus character, Harper, had in common.

He loves Italy

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Baena and Plaza have traveled together over the years, but there's one country that has a special place in Baena's heart: Italy. In addition to Plaza mentioning a work trip to Italy in her coy wedding announcement, Baena opened up about his love for the country in an interview with Deadline in March 2022.

"I shot a film there in 2016 called The Little Hours and had such an awesome time shooting there," he told the outlet. "I learned the differences between shooting in America and Italy, and having been there I wanted to go back knowing what I know and do it again. It's the only country I can think of where every time I go, I learn something new. It's my all-time favorite country."