Most of Jennifer Beals' dancing was performed by an uncredited body double, French actress Marine Jahan, while a breakdancing move in the audition finale was doubled by male dancer Crazy Legs and a slow-motion aerial dive was performed by professional gymnast Sharon Shapiro.

Marine Jahan's name did not appear in the credits because Paramount Pictures shortened the closing credits; she was reportedly told her involvement was hidden so as not to 'break the magic of the film.'

The film's iconic poster image of Jennifer Beals wearing a sweatshirt with a large neck hole came about by accident: the sweatshirt had shrunk in the wash, so she cut a large hole at the top so she could still wear it.

Screenwriter Thomas Hedley sold the film idea to production company Casablanca in April 1980 for $300,000 plus 5% of the net, basing the concept on real exotic dancers he met as an editor of Toronto Life magazine, including Gina Healey and Maureen Marder, who were each paid $2,500 for their life stories.

After the script was sold to Peter Guber and Jon Peters for PolyGram and brought to Paramount, the studio put it into turnaround for two years until producer Don Simpson, who believed in the project, resigned his executive post at Paramount to co-produce it with Jerry Bruckheimer—their first collaboration together.

Director David Cronenberg turned down Flashdance because he felt he would have destroyed the film, and Brian De Palma also declined, choosing instead to direct Scarface (1983); Adrian Lyne, previously known for TV commercials, took the job partly to build studio confidence for his next film, 9½ Weeks.

The lead role was narrowed down to Jennifer Beals, Demi Moore and Leslie Wing; accounts differ on how Beals was chosen, with one story claiming Paramount president Michael Eisner had female secretaries pick their favorite screen test, and another, from screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, claiming Eisner instead polled 200 male crew members on which woman they found most attractive.

Kiss frontman Gene Simmons was originally offered the role of Nick Hurley but turned it down because it would conflict with his 'demon' image, and Kevin Costner came very close to landing the part before it went to Michael Nouri.

A popular urban legend claims 'Maniac' was originally written for the 1980 horror film Maniac with lyrics about a killer, but the film's DVD special features debunk this, showing the song was written for Flashdance with only two complete lyric lines ready when filming began.

Maureen Marder, the real-life welder/dancer who inspired the story, sued Paramount decades later, but in 2006 a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled she had waived her rights when she signed a release for a one-time $2,300 payment in 1982, despite the film grossing over $150 million.