Aubrey Plaza’s husband Jeff Baena revealed how mental health inspired his work before director took own life aged 47
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AUBREY PLAZA'S husband Jeff Baena revealed how mental health inspired his work before tragically taking his own life aged 47. The late screenwriter wrote a movie based on his own family's history with mental illness, revealing how it influenced the storyline.
![[Baena married actress Plaza in 2021]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/jeff-baena-writer-director-behind-961488431.jpg?strip=all&w=638)
The 47-year-old - who was married to White Lotus star Aubrey Plaza - was found dead at their Los Angeles home on Friday. Baena spoke openly about his mental health before his film Horse Girl was released in 2020 on a Reddit Ask Me Anything forum. The screenwriter was asked about the film's main character Sarah, played by Alison Brie, being released from the mental hospital and if that specific scene was based on personal experiences.
![[Baena was found dead inside his home aged 47]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/image_8fb43a.jpeg?strip=all&w=713)
Baena responded, admitting to watching his own stepmom suffer bipolar disorder. He wrote in February 2020: "Unfortunately, people get released all the time when they still need treatment. "The 72-hour mandatory hold only applies to patients who are a danger to themselves, so they must be released after that appraisal period.".
![[Plaza first announced the marriage with this image of her and Baena as she called him her 'darling husband']](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/image_37cc64.webp?strip=all&w=456)
The late star added that his first stepmom "had manic depression and was in and out of facilities in Miami due to the Baker Act," or 5150 in California. Baena also said that while he wouldn't consider Horse Girl "to be an activist film, the themes of how we as a society and individuals treat persons with mental illness was a major focus and impetus for making this.".
![[Jeff Baena visits the Build Series to discuss the new film 'The Little Hours' at Build Studio in 2017]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/jeff-baena-writer-director-behind-961488799.jpg?strip=all&w=685)
