Latest news with #HeidiFleissStory
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Aubrey Plaza breaks silence on first role since husband Jeff Baena's shock death at 47
Aubrey Plaza is excited by the 'challenge' of playing Heidi Fleiss in an upcoming biopic. The 41-year-old actress is set to the play the former madam in The Heidi Fleiss Story, and Aubrey has revealed that she's looking forward to the playing the 'icon'. 'I've been on this track for a while. I got it in my head that I wanted to play her a couple of years ago and I've never played a real-life person before,' she told IndieWire. 'It's a different kind of scale, challenge, that I'm really excited about, and I just think she's an incredible person, incredible character.' Heidi previously ran an upscale, Los Angeles-based prostitution ring and is often referred to as the Hollywood Madam. And Aubrey thinks her story will make for a fascinating movie. The actress explained: 'The story is insane. She's done something that probably nobody else has ever done, and she's still going. I think she's the ultimate bad*** icon and she deserves the royal treatment. We shall give it to her.' Asked if she's ever had the chance to talk to Heidi, Aubrey replied: 'I have not spoken with her, [but] I hope so. I hope to make a little trip to her place in the desert at some point. Spiritually I feel her. I've heard she's very excited about it. We're in early stages.' Aubrey has already enjoyed huge success in her career, starring in movies such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Happiest Season and Black Bear. But the actress previously revealed that her success has been fuelled by rejection. The Hollywood star told NME: 'Auditioning always felt like this f*****-up game that I was playing with life. Like playing the lottery or something. 'I think I've always been very fuelled by rejection. It only made me want it more, because I think I just had that thing inside of me that's like: 'I wanna be in the club that I'm not in' or whatever that is; 'I want the thing that I can't have, or the thing that I don't have. And if you tell me that I'm not good enough, I'll just find a way to prove you wrong somehow.' Aubrey has starred in a wide variety of film and TV projects over the years, including thrillers, political satires and sitcoms. But the actress also loves the idea of starring in big-budget projects. She said: 'I love blockbusters. I think I'm always nostalgic for big movies that are also good – which is a really hard thing to make. But when you do, you'll never forget it. Those kinds of movies can change the world.' The White Lotus star is not only leading the film as Fleiss, but also producing — marking her first major role since the heartbreaking loss of her husband Jeff Baena, who died by suicide on January 3. As casting news spread online, fans quickly took to social media to point out the striking physical resemblance between Aubrey and Heidi. 'Wow, she looks eerily similar to Heidi,' one fan wrote on X. Fleiss rose to infamy in the early 1990s when she was revealed to be running a high-end prostitution ring in Los Angeles that catered to wealthy clients, including celebrities, Hollywood executives, and powerful businessmen. Known as the 'Hollywood Madam,' she allegedly inherited the operation from her former lover and mentor, convicted madam Elizabeth Adams, also known as 'Madam Alex,' and quickly expanded it into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. Fleiss's empire came crashing down in June 1993, when she was arrested and later indicted on multiple charges including pandering, tax evasion, and money laundering, with prosecutors accusing her of laundering over $1.5 million through shell companies and false bookkeeping. During her sensational trial, salacious details emerged about her client list—rumored to include A-list names—though many identities were never publicly confirmed, fueling widespread fan frenzy. Now, Plaza is stepping into the complex role of the convicted madam, bringing her signature intensity to the character of Fleiss. The casting follows a string of high-profile and critically praised performances, including roles in Ethan Coen's Honey Don't and Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis. She also earned acclaim for her work in Sundance favorite My Old Ass and HBO's The White Lotus Season 2. Up next, she'll star alongside Susan Sarandon in The Accompanist, a buzzy indie drama marking the directorial debut of The Office alum Zack Woods. In 2024, an autopsy report from the L.A. County Medical Examiner, obtained by shed light on the circumstances surrounding Baena's tragic death. At the time, he had been living in New York, where his body was discovered on January 3. According to the report, the Life After Beth filmmaker had been going through 'marital difficulties' in the months leading up to his death and had been receiving therapy. Though Plaza's name was redacted, the documents noted that she had spoken to Baena the night before he died and had previously voiced concern for his mental state. The medical examiner confirmed that Baena had no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his passing and noted that Plaza believed he was still alive on the morning of January 3, as he had texted her earlier that day. The report indicated that a dog walker discovered Baena's body. Shortly after his death, a representative for Plaza said in a statement obtained by 'This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.' Baena, who graduated with a film degree from New York University, got hands-on experience with major filmmakers when he worked as a production assistant for Robert Zemeckis and an assistant editor for David O. Russell.
Daily Mail
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Aubrey Plaza's new biopic role as Heidi Fleiss leads Hollywood madam to break her silence to warn the star
Aubrey Plaza 's fans were surprised on Wednesday to learn that the White Lotus actress had been tapped to portray the infamous Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss in an upcoming biopic. And now Fleiss, 59, is speaking out about the 41-year-old actress' plans to play her in The Heidi Fleiss Story. The former madam told the Daily Mail she was 'pleasantly shocked' that the Parks And Recreation actress will be playing her in the biopic. 'It sounds fantastic,' Fleiss said on Wednesday. 'I've never met her and never even heard about it, but wow!' But she also shared a note of caution for Plaza in the wake of her legal and reputational setbacks. 'She's got her work cut out for her,' Fleiss said. 'You know, I hate to have to live with me, and now she has to play me.' However, Fleiss added: 'She's going to be great.' Fleiss has been open about her early career, in which she briefly worked as a prostitute. After she was mentored by another madam running a prostitution ring in Beverly Hills, Fleiss went solo in 1990 and launched her own prostitution ring catering to wealthy clients in Hollywood. But the organization was short-lived, as Fleiss was arrested in 1993 on charges of pandering, tax evasion, and money laundering after prosecutors accused her of laundering $1.5 million through a series of shell companies with falsified records. She was eventually convicted of federal tax evasion charges in 1996. She was sentenced to seven years in prison, but only served 20 months of her sentence at a federal correctional institution before she was released to a halfway house, where she began the rest of her sentence, which included a requirement to complete 370 hours of community service. When asked what advice she would give to Plaza, Fleiss said: 'You know what? I'm confused by the things that I do, so I don't know how to give anyone advice.' Plaza will be stepping into the role after acclaimed turns in season two of HBO's The White Lotus, as well as the crime drama Emily The Criminal and the coming-of-age dramedy My Old Ass. She shared a note of caution for Plaza. 'She's got her work cut out for her,' Fleiss said. 'You know, I hate to have to live with me, and now she has to play me'; pictured on Celebrity Big Brother UK in 2010 Plaza will next be seen in the crime comedy Honey Don't!, which is written and directed by Ethan Coen and co-written with his wife Tricia Cooke. The actress spent time out of the spotlight earlier this year after her husband, the filmmaker Jeff Baena, died by suicide. She made her first public appearance after the tragedy by briefly appearing on the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special in February, during which she donned a tie-dye shirt as a tribute to her late husband, as it was similar to the tie-dye shirts they wore at their wedding in 2021. Fleiss also gave Daily Mail an update on several projects she's working on, including a new site and app for content creators that she hopes will rival OnlyFans. It's called The List by Heidi Fleiss, and the former madam is already in talks with web developers to create it. 'OnlyFans take 20 percent of what these creators make, and very few are making money because they take so much,' Fleiss said. 'Most of them aren't making $3 million a month — they make $2,000. Creators should have more control of the money they make from their content. The List will be more favorable for the creators.' Fleiss, who lives in Pahrump, Nevada, says her priority remains on taking care of her precious birds and continuing her rescue efforts. She currently has between 30 to 40 Macaws and smaller parrots, many of which had been neglected by prior owners or breeders, and she hopes her efforts to care for them can counteract negative forces in society. 'Humanity has had one purpose, and that is to destroy everything as quickly as possible. That's our only purpose,' Fleiss claimed. 'That's how I truly see humanity, and I've always been misanthropic. But with these birds, it's so much more.' Since her release, Fleiss has been open about her past work running a prostitution ring, though she has largely stayed mum about the identities of her high-powered former clients, even as some of their identities were hinted at during her salacious trial. In 2010 she made a foray into mainstream television when she appeared on the UK's Celebrity Big Brother. In recent years, Fleiss has been the owner and manager of a private airport in Pahrump that caters only to small aircrafts. But the former Hollywood madam is also stepping back into the entertainment industry by filming a documentary directed by Andrew Renzi, who was a producer on the HBO reality series Paul American, which delves into the exploits of brothers Jake and Logan Paul.
Daily Mail
06-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Aubrey Plaza to play Heidi Fleiss in first role since husband's suicide as fans say they look 'similar'
Aubrey Plaza is stepping back into the spotlight with a daring new project: The Heidi Fleiss Story, a biopic centered on the rise and fall of the notorious 1990s 'Hollywood Madam.' The White Lotus star is not only leading the film as Fleiss, but also producing — marking her first major role since the heartbreaking loss of her husband Jeff Baena, who died by suicide on January 3. The film dives into the chaotic final days before Fleiss' 1993 downfall, when her high-powered prostitution ring — said to have serviced some of L.A.'s biggest names — was exposed. As authorities closed in, Heidi tried to spin her web of influence one last time, leveraging secrets and connections to escape prison time, with the help of a hungry young writer named Jaclyn. The twisted tale is set to be told with a darkly comic edge and will mark the feature directing debut of Leah Rachel, best known for creating the Netflix series Chambers. The script was co-written by Rachel, Travis Jackson, and rising star Rachel Sennott, the Bottoms and Shiva Baby actress. As casting news spread online, fans quickly took to social media to point out the striking physical resemblance between Aubrey and Heidi.
