Aubrey Plaza is reportedly expecting her first child with partner Chris Abbott, marking a joyful milestone for the actress. The news comes a little over a year after the passing of her husband, Jeff Baena, highlighting a new chapter in her personal life. Plaza and Abbott have kept their relationship private, with their romance largely out of the public eye.
On April 7, an insider told People that Plaza is expecting her first child with Abbott. “It was a beautiful surprise after an emotional year,” the source said, adding that the couple feels “very blessed.” The source did not reveal how far along Plaza is, but said the baby is due in the fall. Plaza and Abbott have been seen together at several events; in February they attended New York Fashion Week and sat in the front row at one show, and a month later Plaza attended Paris Fashion Week wearing an oversized top that concealed her midsection.
The couple has previously worked together. Plaza and Abbott first collaborated on the 2020 psychological thriller Black Bear, directed by Lawrence Michael Levine and co-produced by Plaza. Plaza played Allison, a filmmaker facing internal conflicts, while Abbott portrayed Gabriel, a troubled man who pushes Allison’s boundaries. In a 2020 interview with Variety, Plaza said she had wanted Abbott in the film; she had never met him before but had seen him in the 2015 drama James White. She wrote him a letter, and he agreed to appear.
They also worked together in the theater production Danny and the Deep Blue Sea from 2023 to 2024, where Plaza, making her stage debut, portrayed Roberta opposite Abbott’s Danny. Plaza recalled feeling nervous about her first professional theater performance but took the role for the love of the story and the character, and she described Abbott as one of the best actors around.
Regarding Plaza’s husband, Jeff Baena, he died January 3, 2025, in his Los Angeles home. It was later reported that the 47-year-old filmmaker died by suicide. Plaza and Baena began dating in 2011 and kept their romance largely out of the public eye, though they collaborated on several projects during their relationship, including Life After Beth, Joshy, and Spin Me Round.
