Rare Behind-the-Scenes Photos of ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’: See Madonna Become a Star in ’80s NYC

The fabulously zany comedy turned 40—and still shines for how it celebrates women and style

By Abbey Bender June 19, 2025

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Madonna’s acting isn’t quite as beloved as her music, to say the least, but her movie star debut, Desperately Seeking Susan, stands out among her uneven filmography. The film, which stars Rosanna Arquette as a bored New Jersey housewife who becomes obsessed with a cool, fashionable New York layabout (Madonna, obviously) is filled to the brim with fabulous ’80s style, and provides the ideal showcase for the pop star’s charisma.

Desperately Seeking Susan was released in 1985, and celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier this year. It came out during a pivotal moment in Madonna’s career, as Like a Virgin, the album that shot her into the pop stratosphere, hit record stores just before it was released, elevating her from a scrappy rising star to a worldwide phenomenon.

Written by, directed by and starring women, the movie perfectly mixes breezy humor and feminist empowerment, and four decades after it was released, it stands out as a delightful time capsule of ’80s New York City. Read on to get into the groove with a behind-the-scenes look at how Madonna, Rosanna Arquette and director Susan Seidelman captured lightning in a bottle.

1. Gal pals

Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

This promotional photo shoot of Madonna and Rosanna Arquette in coordinated outfits was used for the movie’s poster and became an iconic example of ’80s style. Looking back on working with Madonna in a Woman’s World interview, Arquette said, “We were real pals during that movie. We hung out a lot. She was going through angst with a breakup. Real tortured. Then she got together with Sean Penn, and I was at the wedding. And then life took her to a whole other stratosphere!”
2. A sultry headshot

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Madonna rocks her punkish early look in this Desperately Seeking Susan headshot. While Susan seems like the role Madonna was born to play, the studio originally didn’t want to cast her, as she wasn’t yet well-known, and Barbra Streisand, Suzanne Vega, Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, Melanie Griffith, Jamie Lee Curtis, Linda Fiorentino, Kim Cattrall, Kelly McGillis and Ellen Barkin were all considered for her role.
3. Radiant Rosanna

Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty

Arquette, seen here in a Desperately Seeking Susan-era portrait, called the movie “a groundbreaking film at the time,” noting, “It was a woman writer [Leora Barish], women producers [Sarah Pillsbury and Midge Sanford], a woman director [Susan Seidelman] and about women. Could this movie be made today? You’d hope so.”
4. A star behind the camera

Everett Collection

In this charming shot, Madonna steps behind the camera, and in her first acting role, she filled the screen with sass. As Seidelman wrote in her 2024 memoir, Desperately Seeking Something: A Memoir About Movies, Mothers, and Material Girls, “The first thing that struck me was her naughty sense of humor. A confident swagger worn like a protective second skin to cover up any hint of insecurity. Later on, Madonna would admit to sharing a lot with the character of Susan. Both used their powers of persuasion to get friends and lovers to do what they wanted. Both were charming con artists that didn’t let you know you were being conned. There was an art to seduction, and Madonna had mastered it. She was a flirt who made everyone she flirted with feel a little bit sexier. Men and women. That was her gift.”
5. Susan directs Susan

Everett Collection

Madonna and Seidelman chat between takes in this candid moment from the set. The director admitted that people always wanted her to give them Madonna gossip, saying, “Well, I’ve answered a lot of questions about Madonna over the years, that’s true. But no, I don’t mind. It’s thrilling when you make something that passes the test of time. Because I didn’t even think in those terms when I was making it. I just wanted to put my finger on the pulse of the time.”
6. Director at work

©Orion Pictures Corp/courtesy Everett Collection

Seidelman wears a cozy cardigan while at work on Desperately Seeking Susan. At the time, there were few women directors in the public eye, and she said, “I wanted to create female characters who had flaws and strengths just like the male characters I’d fallen in love with . . . I also wanted to embrace the feminine in a way that felt proud of being filled with this feeling. They were called ‘chick flicks,’ which was a pejorative way of saying they’re girly, of writing off a lot of women artists who were talking about their lives and experiences.”
7. A black-and-white portrait

© Orion/courtesy Everett Collection

Here, Seidelman holds an overstuffed binder while perched on a director’s chair on a New York City street. Like Madonna, Seidelman got her start in the City’s arty downtown scene, and she shot the film on location before Manhattan became gentrified. She observed, “I never know if I romanticize certain time periods, like the late ’70s and ’80s, because I was young or they really were a great time period. It’s hard to know. But there was something that was very exciting about the grittiness and grunginess.”
8. Accessorizing in style

Robin Platzer/Images/Getty

When Madonna started out, she rocked an eclectic look featuring crop tops, lace gloves and thrift store finds paired with layers of rosary necklaces and jelly bracelets, and this style was widely imitated upon Desperately Seeking Susan’s release. Her style in the movie was quite similar to how she dressed in real life, as you can see in this contemporary photo, and many of Susan’s costumes came straight from her closet.
9. ’80s glam

Bettmann/Getty

Madonna got all dolled up for the premiere of her first movie, wearing an all-white look reminiscent of her unforgettable naughty wedding dress from her “Like a Virgin” performance at the first VMAs. The popcorn bucket makes for a particularly fun accessory here!
10. The jacket that started it all

Tommaso Boddi/WireImage/Getty

Desperately Seeking Susan is filled with eye-catching fashions, and Madonna’s jacket and earrings are both key plot points in the film. The jacket was designed by Santo Loquasto, who served as both the costume designer and the production designer, and in 2016 it sold at auction for $87,500.
11. Eccentric earrings

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty

Here, we see the ornately decorated Egyptian earring Madonna wore. The earrings lead to some wacky confrontations in the film, as Madonna steals one while Arquette ends up with the other, and they’re said to be ancient relics from Nefertiti. They sold for $34,375 at auction even though they were made from inexpensive materials, showing just how coveted Madonna’s style became.

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