Hollywood screenwriter and director Jeffrey Baena, the husband of Aubrey Plaza, died by suicide, the Los Angeles county medical examiner says.

Baena, 47, died at his home on January 3.

Baena co-wrote David O Russell’s 2004 film I Heart Huckabees and wrote and directed five of his own films, mostly dark comedies.

Plaza starred in his directorial debut, the 2014 zombie comedy Life After Beth, and appeared in two of his other films: The Little Hours and Spin Me Round.

“She’s awesome. I’d be working with her if she wasn’t my wife, but luckily she is my wife,” Baena told Reel Talker of Plaza in August 2022.

“The opportunity to do something creative [together] where we’re both fulfilled – how rare is that?”

Plaza, 40, rose to fame playing April Ludgate on the television series Parks and Recreation and was nominated for an Emmy for her role on The White Lotus.

The couple met in 2011, but largely kept their relationship private. Plaza confirmed only in 2021 that they had married during the Covid pandemic.

“We got a little bored one night,” Plaza recalled on the Ellen DeGeneres Show in December 2021.

“We got married and I’ll tell you how: Onehourmarriage.com. That’s real, look it up.”

Plaza had been named as a presenter at the Golden Globes ceremony on Sunday (US time). It remains unclear whether she will appear.

Medical authorities released their report into Baena’s death at the weekend, saying his body would be released to his family.

Plaza is yet to comment publicly on her loss.

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-with AAP