Joyce Chopra is an American director and writer of feature films and television. Chopra graduated from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Chopra was married to American stage and screenwriter Tom Cole until he died on February 23, 2009. Her first narrative feature-length film, Smooth Talk (1985), won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director and Grand Jury Prize at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival. The film is an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' 1966 short story, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?, and was adapted by her husband, Tom Cole.