Susan Seidelman

Susan Seidelman Bio

Susan Seidelman (born December 11, 1952) is an American film director, producer, and writer whose work mixes comedy with drama and often spotlights women protagonists. She first drew international attention with Smithereens (1982), the first American independent feature to screen in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and went on to direct Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), a cultural touchstone that helped launch Madonna’s film career. Across four decades she has built a filmography that bridges independent cinema and mainstream storytelling, with credits including Making Mr. Right (1987), Cookie (1989), She-Devil (1989), Gaudi Afternoon (2001), and Musical Chairs (2011).

Seidelman has also shaped television, directing the pilot and first-season episodes of Sex and the City, and has written a memoir, Desperately Seeking Something, published in 2024. Her films are known for genre blending, artful costuming, and a focus on outsiders, particularly women navigating identity, work, and family.

Early Life and Background

Susan Seidelman was born on December 11, 1952, in Abington, Pennsylvania, and grew up in a Philadelphia suburb as the oldest daughter of a hardware manufacturer and a teacher. She graduated from Abington Senior High School in 1969, then studied fashion and arts at Drexel University in Philadelphia. A film appreciation class introduced her to the French New Wave, and she quickly switched her focus from fashion to filmmaking.

Her first hands-on work as a filmmaker came at New York University, where she earned a Master of Fine Arts at the Tisch School of the Arts. Her satirical short about a housewife’s affair, And You Act Like One Too, drew a Student Academy Award nomination in 1976. Between 2006 and 2019, she returned to NYU Tisch as an adjunct professor, supervising thesis films for the next generation of filmmakers.

Path to Director

Seidelman’s early inspiration came from European directors such as Lina Wertmüller, Agnès Varda, Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, and Ingmar Bergman, along with the personal filmmaking style of John Cassavetes. Those influences shaped her instinct to mix comedy with serious themes and to center female characters inside familiar genres.

After NYU, she worked within the downtown New York independent scene of the early 1980s, shooting her debut feature Smithereens on 16mm for roughly $40,000, at times guerrilla-style on the streets and subways of New York. The film’s selection for competition at Cannes placed her among the first wave of 1980s American independent filmmakers and opened the door to studio work.

Susan Seidelman Career

Early Career (1982-1985)

Seidelman made her feature debut with Smithereens (1982), a darkly humorous portrait of New York’s downtown post-punk scene. The film made history as the first American independent feature to compete at Cannes and earned Seidelman international recognition.

Her follow-up, Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), paired Rosanna Arquette with then-rising star Madonna in what became a major box-office and critical hit. The film introduced audiences to Aidan Quinn, John Turturro, Laurie Metcalf, Giancarlo Esposito, and comedian Steven Wright, and earned a César Award nomination.

Breakthrough (1985-2001)

Seidelman’s 1985 success led to a string of high-profile features, including Making Mr. Right (1987), a romantic sci-fi comedy starring Ann Magnuson and John Malkovich in dual roles as a scientist and his android creation. She then directed Cookie (1989), a father-daughter mafia comedy written by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen, with Peter Falk, Dianne Wiest, and Emily Lloyd. The same year, She-Devil (1989), adapted from Fay Weldon’s novel, paired Meryl Streep in her first comedic starring role with Roseanne Barr in her first feature role.

In 1994, Seidelman and her husband, screenwriter Jonathan Brett, received an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film for The Dutch Master, part of the Erotic Tales anthology. She returned to feature directing with Gaudi Afternoon (2001), a gender-bending detective story set in Barcelona and starring Judy Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, Juliette Lewis, and Lili Taylor.

Television and Continued Work (2005-2013)

In the 1990s and 2000s, Seidelman built a second career in television, directing the pilot of Sex and the City and additional first-season episodes. She received two Emmy nominations for A Cooler Climate on Showtime, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman and starring Sally Field and Judy Davis. Her other TV credits include Comedy Central’s Stella and PBS’s reboot of The Electric Company.

On the feature side, she directed Boynton Beach Club (2005), a senior romantic comedy drawn from stories gathered by her mother, Florence Seidelman, and starring Brenda Vaccaro, Dyan Cannon, and Sally Kellerman. Her next feature, Musical Chairs (2011), set around a wheelchair ballroom dancing competition, marked Laverne Cox’s first film role and earned a GLAAD nomination for Best Film in a Limited Release. She followed it with The Hot Flashes (2013), a basketball comedy starring Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah, Wanda Sykes, and Virginia Madsen.

Notable Works and Milestones

Seidelman’s signature works, including Smithereens, Desperately Seeking Susan, Making Mr. Right, Cookie, and She-Devil, established her as a leading voice in 1980s American cinema. In 2023, Desperately Seeking Susan was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, and in March 2024 La Cinéfmathèque française held a retrospective of her films.

Susan Seidelman Award Nominations

Susan Seidelman has earned nominations across major film institutions throughout her career. Her work on Desperately Seeking Susan brought a César Award nomination, while The Dutch Master earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film in 1994. Her Showtime film A Cooler Climate led to two Emmy nominations, and Musical Chairs received a GLAAD nomination for Best Film in a Limited Release.

Susan Seidelman Awards Won

Seidelman’s films have been recognized with honors from festivals and industry organizations. In 2024 she received a Golden Thumb Award from Ebertfest alongside actress Rosanna Arquette, and in 2025 she was honored with the Indie Star Award from the American Film Festival in Wrocław, Poland, for her significant contribution to independent cinema.

Susan Seidelman Family

Susan Seidelman was raised in a Philadelphia suburb as the oldest daughter of a hardware manufacturer and a teacher. Her mother, Florence Seidelman, inspired the story behind Boynton Beach Club after gathering real stories from seniors re-entering the dating world in South Florida. Seidelman’s memoir, Desperately Seeking Something, published by St. Martin’s Press in June 2024, reflects on family, art, and a career shaped by women across generations.

Personal Life

Susan Seidelman is married to screenwriter and producer Jonathan Brett, her collaborator on the Oscar-nominated short The Dutch Master. As of 2022, the couple lived in the New Jersey countryside after several decades in downtown New York. Their son, Oscar, works as a producer and video editor.