Brady Corbet Says ‘My Heart Is with Aubrey Plaza’ After Death of Her Husband Jeff Baena in Golden Globes Speech

• Director Brady Corbet acknowledged Aubrey Plaza’s late husband, Jeff Baena, who died at 47 on Friday, Jan. 3., during his win for best movie director for The Brutalist, saying, “Finally, tonight my heart is with Aubrey Plaza and Jeff’s family”
• Plaza, 40, was scheduled to present an award at the Jan. 5 ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, but she did not attend the Golden Globes after Baena’s death
• Elsewhere in Corbet’s speech, the writer-director gave “a warm and sincere thanks to the Golden Globes for giving our film further visibility with such a recognition”

The Brutalist director Brady Corbet sent love Aubrey Plaza’s way as he won big at the Golden Globe Awards.

As Corbet, 36, accepted the Golden Globe Award for best movie director for The Brutalist, the filmmaker wrapped his speech by acknowledging Plaza and her late husband Jeff Baena, who died at 47 on Friday, Jan. 3. “Finally, tonight my heart is with Aubrey Plaza and Jeff’s family,” Corbet said at the end of his speech. “Goodnight.”

Plaza, 40, was scheduled to present an award at the Jan. 5 ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, but she did not attend the Golden Globes after Baena’s death. The pair had been married since 2021.

Elsewhere in Corbet’s speech, the writer-director gave “a warm and sincere thanks to the Golden Globes for giving our film further visibility with such a recognition.”

“It is extraordinarily meaningful for a film like this that once a few short months ago had the odds very much stacked against it,” Corbet said. “I would also be remiss not to mention that I am humbled to be in such excellence company, filmmakers I genuinely admire. Hundreds of very devoted people worked on this film for years, before, during and after its realization. There are too many to name in the 45 seconds allotted to me here, but I am so grateful to them all, everyone at 24, Focus Features international, CAA, Post office, the Hungarian film lab, Kodak and PhotoChem.”

Corbet also thanked his cast, crew members, his mother, his cowriter, coproducer and wife Mona Fastvold and their daughter Ada, whom he said “looks so stunning in that dress of hers tonight that I’m thinking this fiasco that I’ve gotten us all into may have very well been worth it. I love you so much, Ada James.”

“I’d like to take the opportunity to thank and acknowledge three people that I lost while making this picture: my grandfather James, his brother Jerry and my dear friend Kevin Turn, who I miss every day. I wouldn’t be standing here tonight if it were not for their influence,” he added.

Also nominated in film director category were Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez, Sean Baker for Anora, Edward Berger for Conclave, Coralie Fargeat for The Substance and Payal Kapadia for All We Imagine as Light.

Before its Nikki Glaser-hosted ceremony, which aired on CBS and Paramount+, the 82nd annual Golden Globes announced its nominations on Dec. 9, with Emilia Pérez and Hulu comedy The Bear leading the movies and TV categories, respectively.

Audiard, 72, is a legendary French director known stateside for 2018’s The Sisters Brothers and 2013’s Rust and Bone. Emilia Pérez, which he directed and wrote, combines thriller and musical elements in a story about a Mexican drug cartel leader who undergoes transitioning into a woman. The titular character, played by Spanish actress and Globe nominee Karla Sofía Gascón, fakes her death and makes amends with the help of a lawyer, played by Globe nominee Zoe Saldaña.

The film, also nominated for the Globes’ best musical or comedy motion picture prize, kicked off awards season with an ensemble cast win at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival for its four central actresses: Gascón, Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz. 

Although he’s risen through the Hollywood ranks as a groundbreaking indie director, this marks the first Golden Globe recognition for Baker, 53, also nominated for Anora’s screenplay. The original film stars Mikey Madison as a sex worker experiencing a whirlwind Cinderella story. Baker, Madison, supporting actor Yura Borisov and more have also been recognized in the Critics Choice Award nominations, Gotham Awards and more.

First-time Golden Globe nominee Berger, 54, took 2023’s awards season by storm with his remake of All Quiet on the Western Front. The German-Austrian director’s follow-up, Conclave, is a Peter Straughan-written adaptation of the hit novel by Robert Harris which imagines a dramatic series of events during a papal conclave. The film has picked up plenty of awards recognition, particularly for its lead actor, the Globe-contending Ralph Fiennes. 

Corbet, 36, is a former actor whose behind-the-camera transition has brought about three hit features: 2015’s The Childhood of a Leader, 2018’s Vox Lux and now The Brutalist, which stars Adrien Brody as a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who emigrates to the U.S. following the Holocaust. The acclaimed historical drama entered this year’s Golden Globes ceremony with seven nods, including for Brody, supporting stars Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce and best dramatic motion picture. 

French filmmaker Fargeat, 48, followed up her 2017 feature Revenge with the wholly original The Substance — a horror film deemed a comedy by Golden Globe nominators. It stars Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley as different versions of the same character, who takes an illicit substance to create a younger self. Both actresses have notched nominations at this year’s Globes, Critics Choice Awards and more, as has Fargeat for best writing, directing and picture. 

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Writer-director Kapadia, 38, hails from India, where she has won awards for documentaries and short films. Making her a first-time Golden Globe nominee is All We Imagine as Light, a drama set in Mumbai, India that was produced by companies in India, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Italy. It has earned accolades from dozens of critics groups and film festivals, including during its premiere this May at Cannes. 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

See PEOPLE’s full coverage of the 82nd annual Golden Globes as they’re broadcasting live from The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on CBS and Paramount+.