Susan Seidelman began her directorial career in the 1980s when her film SMITHEREENS became the first American Independent film accepted into the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Susan’s next endeavor DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN (starring Madonna and Rosanna Arquette) was a critical and commercial success that helped launch the careers of many emerging performers of that time such as John Turturro, Laurie
Metcalf, Will Patton, Giancarlo Esposito and comedian Steven Wright. The film premiered at Cannes in 1985 and was nominated for a French “Cesar” for Best Foreign Film. In 2023, it was added to the National Film Registry as part of a small selection of films preserved by the Library of Congress for their historic, cultural or aesthetic contribution to American Cinema.

Seidelman went on to direct several other films including the romantic sci-fi comedy MAKING MR. RIGHT, starring John Malkovich and Ann Magnuson, COOKIE, a fatherdaughter mafia comedy starring Peter Falk, Dianne Wiest and Emily Lloyd, and written by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen; and SHE DEVIL, featuring Meryl Streep in her first comedic screen role and Roseanne Barr in her first feature film.

In 1994, Seidelman’s short film, THE DUTCH MASTER, screened at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar.

Her other films include GAUDI AFTERNOON (2002) a gender-bending detective story set in Barcelona, starring Judy Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, Juliette Lewis and Lili Taylor; BOYNTON BEACH CLUB (2005) an ensemble romantic comedy set in a retirement community in South Florida, MUSICAL CHAIRS (2011) a dance film about a Wheelchair Ballroom Dance Competition, featuring Laverne Cox in her first movie role, and nominated for a GLAAD Award for Best Film in a Limited Release; and THE HOT FLASHES, a sports comedy starring Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah, Wanda Sykes, Virginia Madsen and Camryn Manheim.

Seidelman has also worked in television, directing the pilot and first-season episodes of SEX AND THE CITY, as well as various productions for Showtime, Comedy Central and PBS.

Susan’s memoir, DESPERATELY SEEKING SOMETHING, was published in the summer of 2024 by St. Martin’s Press.