Susan Seidelman
Director

Susan Seidelman Net Worth

She has also written and directed several television series, including Sex and the City, Miami Vice, and Sisters. Seidelman has been nominated for several awards, including an Academy Award for Best Short Film for Smithereens. She has also been honored with the Women in Film Crystal Award and the Women in Film Lucy Award.
Susan Seidelman is a member of Director

Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Director, Producer, Writer
Birth Day December 11, 1952
Birth Place  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Age 71 YEARS OLD
Birth Sign Capricorn
Residence New York City
Education Abington Senior High School (PA)
Alma mater New York University
Occupation Director, producer, writer
Years active 1982–present
Notable work Smithereens, Desperately Seeking Susan, Making Mr. Right, Cookie, She-Devil, Gaudi Afternoon, Musical Chairs
Partner(s) Jonathan Brett
Children Oscar Brett

💰 Net worth

Susan Seidelman, a highly accomplished filmmaker in the United States, has an estimated net worth ranging from $100K to $1M as of 2024. Seamlessly transitioning between the roles of director, producer, and writer, she has made a significant impact on the American film industry. Known for her distinctive style and ability to capture the essence of her characters, Seidelman has helmed numerous successful projects throughout her career. Her net worth reflects her talent, dedication, and success in the industry, solidifying her status as a multifaceted force to be reckoned with.

Biography/Timeline

1969

Seidelman was raised in a suburb of Philadelphia, the oldest daughter of a hardware manufacturer and a Teacher. She graduated from Abington Senior High School in 1969, and went on to study fashion and arts at Drexel University in Philadelphia. After taking a film appreciation class where she was inspired by the French New Wave, particularly the films of Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut, as well as Ingmar Bergman, she switched her focus to filmmaking.

1970

Seidelman was inspired early on by European Directors Lina Wertmüller and Agnes Varda, who she studied in college in the 1970s—a time when there weren’t a lot of women Directors in the American film industry. The early feminist movement of the 60s and 70s, as well as the personal filmmaking style of the French New Wave, and Directors Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut and John Cassavetes were also early influences. Seidelman is a fan of Billy Wilder for his social observation, drama and humor.

1980

In Smithereens, set in the early 1980s, the trope of the plucky heroine trying to make it in the music world is upended by teenaged Wren’s goal to become famous despite having no applicable creative talents. Plastering fliers of her face around the city, Wren’s a precursor of the "famous for being famous" personalities of the Internet age. Seidelman says that Wren’s story "is about something broader: the fragmented nature of life in the 80's. It could have taken place in other settings."

1982

In 1982, Seidelman made her feature-film debut with Smithereens, a bleak and darkly humorous look at New York City's downtown Bohemian scene of the 1980s. It was shot on 16mm for $40,000 on location, at times "guerrilla style" on the streets and in the subways of New York. Smithereens captured the look of the post-punk music scene and was the first American independent film to be selected for competition at the Cannes Film Festival. With recognition from Cannes, Seidelman became a member of the first wave of 80s-era independent filmmakers in the American cinema.

1986

Seidelman has lived in New York City with her partner, Screenwriter and Producer Jonathan Brett since 1986. Their son Ozzy is a Producer and video Editor.

1987

Nora Ephron, who she collaborated with in 1987 for Cookie, was a role model as a Writer and Director who was able to combine family life with a successful film career. Among contemporaries, Seidelman notes the cerebral stories of the Coen Brothers, mid-career Woody Allen, early Martin Scorsese and the films of Jane Campion are all favorites. She’s drawn to Directors with distinct, slightly "outsider" points of view.

1990

In the 1990s and 2000s Seidelman garnered success as a television Director, helming the pilot of Sex and the City, which involved some casting and developing the look and feel of the show. Seidelman thought the pilot script by Darren Star was bold, presenting then-taboo subject matter with humor, saying, "It was the first time that a TV show featured women talking about things they really talk about in private." She directed subsequent episodes during the show's first season.

1994

In 1994 Seidelman and Screenwriter Jonathan Brett received an Academy Award nomination for a short film they co-wrote and co-produced called The Dutch Master. The film was part of the series "Erotic Tales" produced by Regina Ziegler and was screened at both the Cannes Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival. In the same year Seidelman was a member of the jury at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival.

2001

In 2001, Seidelman returned to feature films with Gaudi Afternoon, a gender-bending detective story set in Barcelona, starring Judy Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, Juliette Lewis and Lili Taylor. The screenplay by James Myhre was based on the book "Gaudi Afternoon: A Cassandra Reilly Mystery" by Barbara Wilson.

2005

Her 2005 film Boynton Beach Club was based on an original idea by her mother, Florence Seidelman, who while living in south Florida had gathered true stories of senior citizens who were suddenly back in the "dating game" after the loss of a spouse. It's one of the first movies to deal with sexuality and the aging Baby Boomer generation and had a theatrical run and acclaim at U.S. film festivals. The ensemble cast features studio veterans Brenda Vaccaro, Dyan Cannon, Sally Kellerman, Joseph Bologna, Michael Nouri and Len Cariou.

2011

Seidelman's next film Musical Chairs, opened in limited release in 2011. The story is set in the South Bronx and Manhattan and revolves around a couple taking part in a wheelchair ballroom dancing competition after the woman becomes disabled. The film had its premiere at Lincoln Center's Dance on Camera Festival and played at the New York International Latino Film Festival, the Miami International Film Festival, and the Havana International Film Festival, among others.

2013

Seidelman's 2013 film The Hot Flashes is about middle-aged women living in small-town Texas, all former 1980s basketball champs, reuniting to challenge the current girls' high school team to raise funds for a breast-cancer treatment center. It stars Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah, Wanda Sykes, Virginia Madsen, Camryn Manheim, and Eric Roberts.

2014

A magic club is also a feature of Gaudi Afternoon where asexual Cassandra, through her attraction to openly bisexual Hamilton—an amateur magician—acknowledges her own sexual awareness. Antoni Gaudí’s eccentric, sensual architecture is the scenic backdrop to Cassandra’s deeper involvement with an alternative family and their young daughter, which ultimately brings about change in her personal life.

2019

A diverse cast of Dancers perform in Musical Chairs, where Armando and Mia’s relationship develops within the world of competitive wheelchair ballroom dancing—a dance form popular in Europe and Asia, but mostly unknown in the U.S. The dance troupe, outsiders in the world of feature-film, include a transgender woman and an Iraqi veteran, highlighting dance as a form of self-expression available to everyone. Laverne Cox, who is transgender, has said that playing Chantelle, a disabled African American transgender woman, in a feature film was a career milestone.

Some Susan Seidelman images

About the author

Lisa Scholfield

As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.