The Housemaid author Freida McFadden reveals her true identity | Books

The bestselling thriller writer known as Freida McFadden has revealed her real identity, ending years of speculation about the author behind a string of hugely popular novels.

McFadden, whose books include bestseller The Housemaid, appears in public in a wig and glasses and writes under a pseudonym. But the US author has now confirmed that her real name is Sara Cohen.

“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,” McFadden said in an interview with USA Today. “I am a real person and I have a real identity and I don’t have anything to hide.”

While her look may appear to be a deliberate disguise, Cohen revealed that she does in fact wear glasses, and wears a wig only because she has “no idea how to style my hair”.

As well as being an author, Cohen, 45, is a doctor who treats brain disorders. She said she initially chose anonymity for practical reasons, to keep her writing life separate from 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. Her colleagues eventually became aware of her double life, but were “really nice about it” and kept her secret.

Cohen lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband and two children. She has now reduced her medical work to occasional shifts, saying that balancing both careers had become unsustainable.

The author began publishing in 2013 with the self-released The Devil Wears Scrubs, later finding major commercial success with The Housemaid in 2022. She has written 27 novels and, across formats, sold tens of millions of copies worldwide. Last year, The Housemaid was adapted into a film starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, and went on to gross almost $400m (£300m) worldwide. A sequel, The Housemaid’s Secret, adapted from McFadden’s novel of the same name, is now in development, with Sweeney set to return, alongside Kirsten Dunst.

Despite dropping the secrecy around her identity, Cohen said she would continue to publish under her established pen name. “Even though I haven’t told my real name until now, I feel like I have shared the real me all along and everything I’ve told [readers] has been the truth,” she said. “Even though the name will be a surprise, nothing else will. I’ve always been genuine with my readers.”