Actor Aubrey Plaza, beloved for her quick wit and dry delivery in series like The White Lotus and Parks and Recreation, is expecting her first child with partner Chris Abbott.
“They feel very blessed,” a source told People, which also confirmed the news with Plaza’s rep. “It was a beautiful surprise after an emotional year.”
Plaza experienced the shocking loss of her late husband, the indie director Jeff Baena, in 2025. The news came not long before the bisexual actor’s latest film, the sapphic black comedy Honey Don’t, was set to release in theaters, marking a difficult time for her to be in the public eye.
After Baena’s death, Plaza spoke about her grief with friend and Parks and Recreation costar Amy Poehler on the Good Hang podcast, describing it as “a giant ocean of awfulness.” “Sometimes, I just want to dive into it, and just, like, be in it,” Plaza said. “Then, sometimes, I just look at it, and sometimes I try to get away from it. But, it’s always there.”
Plaza, who reportedly separated from Baena in late 2024, starred opposite Abbott in the 2020 Sundance hit Black Bear. The pair reunited for the off-Broadway revival of John Patrick Shanley’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, which had a four-month run beginning in October 2023; the timeline of their romantic relationship is unclear.
Last fall, Plaza announced plans to produce and star in the upcoming biopic The Heidi Fleiss Story — her first major project since Baena’s death. Abbott is currently appearing in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman opposite Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf on Broadway.
