Biography
Martha Coolidge is an American film and television director. Born on 17 August 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut, she studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she became the first film major, and later earned an MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
She began her career directing documentaries before making her feature debut with Not a Pretty Picture (1975). Her breakthrough came with the independent film Valley Girl (1983). Subsequent feature credits include Real Genius (1985) and Rambling Rose (1991). She has also directed episodes of series including Weeds (2005), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000) and Sex and the City (1998). Coolidge served as the first female president of the Directors Guild of America from 2002 to 2003.
