Aubrey Plaza Candidly Opens Up On Grief Journey Seven Months After Husband Jeff Baena's Death

Aubrey Plaza is showing her most vulnerable side as she speaks out about grieving the loss of her husband, filmmaker Jeff Baena. Seven months after Baena died by suicide at age 47, the Parks and Recreation actress describes how she's living through the unrelenting grief of loss, in a rare, intimate reflection on life in the wake of heartbreak.

In a conversation with former co-star Amy Poehler on the Good Hang podcast, Plaza said that her perspective has shifted following her grief. "Overall, I'm here and I'm functioning," she added. "I feel really grateful to be moving through the world. I think I'm okay, but it's a daily struggle, obviously." Her comments captured something of the complex cocktail of resilience and hurt that is grief, and the sense that even small steps forward can feel like Everest when you're staring down such a terrible loss.

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Grief can manifest in surprising ways, explained Plaza. One day, as she sat down to watch the 2025 film The Gorge, she felt as though she was hit by an incredible metaphor for how she was feeling. Explaining the cinematic device of characters caught between cliff faces along a gorge swarming with monsters, Plaza compared it to the pervasiveness of grief. "I swear when I watched it, I was like, that feels like what my grief is like or what grief could be like where at all times there's like a giant ocean of awfulness that's right there and I can see it. Sometimes I just want to dive into it, and just like be in it. Then sometimes I just look at it, and sometimes I try to get away from it. But, it's always there."

Her response offers a raw glimpse into the capricious nature of mourning. Every day for Plaza, the act of living is a balancing act between facing the depth of loss and finding reasons to keep going. The actress's candor not only honors her late husband's memory but also offers solace to others navigating their own grief, reminding them that mourning is not a linear process and that strength can exist simultaneously with sorrow. As Plaza recovers, she's doing so with candor, courage, and appreciation. Though the road before her is dark, her willingness to share her past is a mark of her strong spirit and her hope that love and memory can survive tragedy.