Best-selling The Housemaid author Freida McFadden reveals true identity
Best-selling The Housemaid author Freida McFadden reveals true identity
A major publishing mystery has finally been unraveled as the acclaimed US author who writes under the name Freida McFadden unveiled her real name to the public. Known globally for her gripping thrillers, including The Housemaid, McFadden had long kept her identity concealed, despite her fame as a pseudonym. Now, she has confirmed that her true name is Sara Cohen.
McFadden’s revelation came via an interview with USA Today, where she stated,
“I’m at a point in my career when I’m tired of this being a secret. I’m tired of people debating if I’m a real person or if I’m three men. I am a real person and I have a real identity and I don’t have anything to hide.”
Her pseudonym, which she adopted when self-publishing her debut novel, The Devil Wears Scrubs, in 2013, was rooted in a medical joke. The name was inspired by the hospital system’s Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database.
Under the pen name Freida McFadden, she became the second-highest-selling author in the UK in 2025, with 2.6 million books sold. In the US, her works have amassed six million print copies, driven by the popularity of The Housemaid, a novel first released in 2022. The story was adapted into a film last year, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. Only Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo, surpassed her sales figures in the UK during that year.
Cohen’s dual life as a doctor and author was carefully maintained for years. She practiced neurology in Boston, Massachusetts, while writing psychological thrillers. However, the stress of balancing both roles eventually led her to step back from her medical career in 2023. By 2024, she had reduced her work hours to once or twice a month, making it easier to disclose her identity. “My whole goal was to keep it a secret until I was ready to step back from my doctor job,” she explained to USA Today. “So it wouldn’t be like everyone I work with suddenly knew and it compromised my ability to do my job.”
Her anonymity was partly a shield against social anxiety. In 2024, she told the Washington Post,
“I don’t like to be the centre of attention. I love that people are reading my books, but the spotlight on me specifically is hard… It’s not just about privacy but also about social anxiety.”
She also shared concerns about her patients’ reactions, saying,
“I worried my patients might feel weird about being treated by a best-selling thriller writer. At work, I want to be a doctor. A lot of my books have medical stuff in them, and I don’t want people saying, ‘Is this based on me?’ It feels unprofessional.”
Despite her efforts to remain discreet, a colleague’s recognition of her in a Freida McFadden photo last January exposed her secret. “The cat is out of the bag,” she told the Times, adding that her coworkers had been respectful in not sharing details on social media. In response, she hosted a book signing at her workplace, aiming to bridge the gap between her two identities.
For public appearances, Cohen still wears a wig, though she admits it’s more about her lack of confidence in hairstyling than a necessity. “Even though I haven’t told my real name until now, I feel like I have shared the real me all along,” she said. “Everything I’ve told them has been the truth. Nothing else will change.”
