Aubrey Plaza on Sunday made her first public appearance since her husband, Jeff Baena, died earlier this year, showing up at the star-studded Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary show. The Parks and Rec star was tapped to introduce a musical performance by Miley Cyrus and the Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, who performed a cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.” It wasn’t her first time in Studio 8H—Plaza was an intern on the 2004–05 season of SNL before becoming an NBC page and hosted the show in 2023. She had been with Baena, an independent filmmaker, for 10 years when he died by suicide at age 47 on Jan. 3. They married in 2021, in a ceremony she described as “witchy” and “impromptu.” Plaza released a short statement following his death: “This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”
