Best-selling The Housemaid author Freida McFadden reveals true identity

Best-selling The Housemaid author Freida McFadden reveals true identity

A longstanding publishing enigma has finally been unraveled as the acclaimed US author known to millions as Freida McFadden unveiled her real name: Sara Cohen. The revelation, shared with USA Today, marks the end of a long-held secret. McFadden, celebrated for her psychological thrillers like *The Housemaid*, has maintained her pseudonym while also practicing medicine, but now she’s embraced her true self.

Under the name Freida McFadden, she became the second most popular author in the UK in 2025, with 2.6 million books sold. In the US, her total print sales reached six million copies, driven largely by the success of *The Housemaid*, which launched in 2022 and was adapted into a film last year starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. Only Julia Donaldson, author of *The Gruffalo*, surpassed her in overall UK sales for that year.

Cohen’s journey began in 2013 with self-publishing *The Devil Wears Scrubs*, a fictionalized version of her life as a resident doctor. She chose the pseudonym as a medical pun, referencing the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database. While working as a specialist in brain disorders in Boston, she continued writing, eventually pivoting to psychological thrillers. Her dual life, however, required careful management.

“I’m at a point in my career when I’m tired of this being a secret,” she explained. “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.”

She once told the *New York Times* in 2024 that she feared her patients might feel uneasy knowing she was also a best-selling thriller writer. “At work, I want to be a doctor,” she said. “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.”

Her privacy concerns were compounded by social anxiety, as she mentioned to 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.”

McFadden’s decision to reveal her identity came after she transitioned to part-time work in 2023. Now, she has further reduced her medical duties, making it easier to share her real name. “My whole goal was to keep it a secret until I was ready to step back from my doctor job,” she said. “But I have stepped away from my job. I’m only working once or twice a month.”

She admitted to feeling overwhelmed by juggling both careers. “I just realized I was completely overwhelmed from trying to do both,” she told USA Today. The final blow came when a colleague recognized her in a Freida photo, sparking a quiet leak. Yet, she expressed gratitude for the support received. “They’ve been really respectful about not posting anything about me on social media, and I tried to repay them with a book signing at work.”

For public appearances, Cohen still uses a wig—though she jokes it’s simply because “I have no idea how to style my hair.” She remains committed to her pen name, hoping fans will continue to connect with her through Freida. “Even though I haven’t told my real name until now, I feel like I’ve shared the real me all along,” she said. “Everything I’ve told them has been the truth. Nothing else will change.”