# Martha Coolidge

Martha Coolidge (born August 17, 1946) is an American film director and former President of the Directors Guild of America. She has directed such films as Valley Girl, Real Genius and Rambling Rose.

## Early life

Coolidge was born in New Haven, Connecticut. She is a granddaughter of Arthur W. Coolidge, former lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, who was a fourth cousin of President Calvin Coolidge.
Coolidge studied illustration at Rhode Island School of Design, but changed majors, becoming the first film major at the school. She earned her MFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Later in Los Angeles, she studied acting and other aspects of her craft with Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Joanne Baron, and David Craig.

## Career

Coolidge first made her reputation by directing many award-winning documentaries in New York City. While in New York, she helped found the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF).
She moved to Hollywood in 1976 and spent several years as a part of the Zoetrope Studio created by Francis Ford Coppola. Her feature-length directorial debut, Not a Pretty Picture, was based on a date rape she suffered at age 16. Her breakthrough film was the independently produced Valley Girl (1983), which is best remembered for launching the career of Nicolas Cage. Her film Rambling Rose (1991) won three Independent Spirit Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress for Diane Ladd, in addition to Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Ladd and Laura Dern (Best Actress). Rambling Rose was well reviewed and made top 10 lists for the year. Despite a limited release hampered by economic problems suffered by the production company, the film played for months and earned many honors.
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999) for HBO was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards, winning five, including Best Actress for its star Halle Berry, and earned Coolidge an Emmy and DGA (Directors Guild of America) nominations for Best Director.
From 2002 to 2003 she was the Directors Guild of America's first female president.
She taught at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

## Personal life

Coolidge was previously married to screenwriter Michael Backes, with whom she has a son, Preston, named for director Preston Sturges. She is now married to production designer James Spencer.

## Awards

* Independent Spirit Award, Best Director for Rambling Rose
* Independent Spirit Award, Best Feature for Rambling Rose
* DGA Award, Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award
* Paris Film Festival, Grand Prix Award for Real Genius
* Chicago International Film Festival, Best Short Film for Bimbo
* Chicago International Film Festival, Best Short Film for More Than a School
* LA Femme International Film Festival, Maverick Award
* Method Fest, Forerunner Award
* Women in Film Award, Crystal Award

## Nominations

* Online Film & Television Association Award, Best Director for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
* Emmy Award, Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
* DGA Award, Best Director for An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong
* DGA Award, Best Director for If These Walls Could Talk 2
* DGA Award, Best Director for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
* CableACE Award, Best Director for Crazy in Love
* Chicago Film Critics Association Award, Best Director for Rambling Rose

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
| 1976 | Not a Pretty Picture | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1983 | Valley Girl | Yes | No | No |
| 1984 | City Girl | Yes | Story | Yes |
| 1984 | Joy of Sex | Yes | No | No |
| 1985 | Real Genius | Yes | No | No |
| 1988 | Plain Clothes | Yes | No | No |
| 1991 | Rambling Rose | Yes | No | No |
| 1993 | Lost in Yonkers | Yes | No | No |
| 1994 | Angie | Yes | No | No |
| 1995 | Three Wishes | Yes | No | No |
| 1997 | Out to Sea | Yes | No | No |
| 2004 | The Prince & Me | Yes | No | No |
| 2006 | Material Girls | Yes | No | No |
| 2019 | I'll Find You | Yes | No | No |

### Television

| Year | Title | Episodes |
| 1986 | Sledge Hammer! | "Under the Gun" |
| 1986 | The Twilight Zone | "Night of the Meek" |
| 1986 | The Twilight Zone | "Quarantine" |
| 1986 | The Twilight Zone | "Shelter Skelter" |
| 2001 | Masterpiece | "The Pounder Heart" |
| 2001 | Leap Years | "Pilot" |
| 2002 | Sex and the City | "A Vogue Idea" and "I Heart New York" |
| 2003 | Hidden Hills | "The Concert" |
| 2005 | Huff | "All the Kings Horses" |
| 2006 | Related | "Not Without My Daughter" |
| 2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | "Living Legend" |
| 2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | "Redrum" |
| 2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | "Take my life Please" |
| 2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | "Fracked" |
| 2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | "Maid Man" |
| 2007 | Shark | "Porn Free" |
| 2007 | Weeds | "Shit Highway" |
| 2007 | Psych | "Truer Lies" |
| 2013 | Cult | "The Good Fight" |
| 2013 | The Glades | "Glade-iators!" |
| 2014 | Killer Women | "Warrior" |
| 2014 | The Night Shift | "Blood Brothers" |
| 2014 | Madam Secretary | "Passage" |
| 2016 | Angie Tribeca | "The Famous Ventriloquist Did It" |
| 2018 | Siren | "Showdown" |

### TV movies

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1989 | Trenchcoat in Paradise | |
| 1991 | Bare Essentials | |
| 1992 | Crazy in Love | |
| 1999 | Introducing Dorothy Dandridge | |
| 2000 | If These Walls Could Talk 2 | Segment "1972" |
| 2001 | The Flamingo Rising | |
| 2004 | The 12 Days of Christmas Eve | |
| 2009 | An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong | |
| 2009 | Tribute | |