‘Housemaid’ Author Sara Cohen Is Taking Off Her Wig

Turns out the literary world has its very own Hannah Montana. On Wednesday, Freida McFadden — the best-selling author of The Housemaid — revealed in an interview with USA Today that her real name is Sara Cohen, and she’s a doctor who treats brain disorders.

Cohen, who has written under a pseudonym since publishing her first novel in 2013, is best known for writing the 2022 novel that inspired last year’s Sydney Sweeney–Amanda Seyfried movie and its two book sequels (one of which is being adapted into a second movie). Apparently, Cohen never meant for her identity to be such a big mystery. “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,” she said. “I am a real person and I have a real identity and I don’t have anything to hide.”

Cohen explained that she initially created a separate persona for her writing career to keep it from interfering with her hospital job. “My whole goal was to keep it a secret until I was [ready to] step back from my doctor job, so it wouldn’t be like everyone I work with suddenly knew and it compromised my ability to do my job,” she said. Apparently, it only sort of worked — her co-workers did eventually find out, were “really nice about it,” and agreed to keep her secret. In late 2023, “overwhelmed from trying to do both,” Cohen stopped working full-time at the hospital and is now “only working [there] like once or twice a month.”

Cohen has been known to wear a wig during public appearances, ostensibly to maintain her privacy (sort of like a pop star with a double life you may have heard about). But in the interview, she revealed she had a more practical reason. “I have no idea how to style my hair,” she said. Might I suggest getting a blonde one with some bangs for her next book tour?