susan seidelman (born december 11, 1952) is an american film director, producer and writer. she first came to notice with "smithereens" (1982), the earliest american independent feature to be screened in competition at the cannes film festival. her next feature "desperately seeking susan" (1985) co-starred madonna in her first film. "she-devil" (1989) starred meryl streep in her first starring comedic film role and roseanne barr in her first feature-film role. seidelman's subsequent films mix comedy with drama, blending genres and pop-cultural references with a focus on women protagonists, particularly outsiders. she also works in television and directed the pilot episode of "sex and the city".