Suspense author Freida McFadden, one of the biggest literary phenomena of recent years, has finally revealed her true identity, ending one of the biggest recent mysteries in the publishing world.
Known for the success of The Housemaid (“The Maid”, in Portuguese)the American writer admitted, in statements to that your nome vheir is not Freida McFadden, but Sara Cohen.
“I’ve reached a point in my career where I’m tired of keeping this secret,” she explained, adding, “I’m tired of people arguing about whether I’m a real person or whether I’m three men. I’m a real person, I have a real identity, and I have nothing to hide.”
The writer who is actually a doctor
Even though I never hid that “Freida McFadden” was a pseudonymthe author kept her personal life out of the spotlight for years. Parallel to writing, Cohen spends his days working as a doctor specializing in brain diseases.
The decision to maintain anonymity came precisely to protect your clinical activity.
“For work, I want to be a doctor,” she explained, continuing, “A lot of my books have medical themes, and I don’t want people to say, “Is this based on me?” It seems unprofessional to me.”
Literary success ended up, however, making it increasingly difficult to sustain this double identity.
A race to thrillers
In the UK alone, McFadden was the second best-selling author in 2025with millions of copies sold, driven by the success of The Housemaidnonetheless adapted to cinema.
With 29 books publifallenthe writer became one of the most popular voices in the genre, topping the charts in several countries. The recognition allowed him reduce medical activity and, more recently, publicly assuming who he is.
“I love that people are reading my books,” he said. “But being in the spotlight specifically is difficult…”
The revelation also comes at a time when it was already difficult to keep the secret.
“My goal was to keep this a secret until I was ready. [pronta para] take time off from my work as a doctor so that all my colleagues wouldn’t suddenly find out and it would compromise my ability to perform my duties,” she explained to USA Today.
“But I’ve already stepped away from my job. Now I only work once or twice a month,” he added.
Mystery identity finally revealed
It should be noted that in all public appearances in Freida’s “skin”, Sara chooses to wear a wig. The reason is simple:
“I have no idea how to do my hair,” explains the doctor.
According to herself, in January this year, a co-worker ended up recognizing his identitywhich accelerated the decision to make the information public.
“But they have been very respectful in not posting anything about me on social media, and I tried to reciprocate the gesture with an autograph session at work,” says the author.
Despite that, Sara Cohen guarantees that she will continue to write under the name Freida McFadden.
“I have always shared who I am through my stories.”
“Although the name is a surprise, nothing else will be. I have always been honest with my readers”, he concludes.
