The author behind one of the biggest thriller franchises in the world has stepped out of the shadows, revealing her real identity for the first time after more than two decades of carefully guarding it.
Freida McFadden, the pen name behind The Housemaid and a string of domestic thrillers, has told USA Today that she is in fact Sara Cohen, a doctor who specialises in treating brain disorders.
The revelation, published on Wednesday, 8 April, ends years of speculation about whether the author even existed as a real person.
“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 told the outlet.
“I am a real person and I have a real identity and I don’t have anything to hide.”
For more than two decades, McFadden concealed her identity using a wig and glasses for public appearances.
The glasses, she clarified, are something she genuinely wears in daily life, the wig was simply because she has “no idea” how to style her own hair.
Many of her patients turned out to be fans of her novels without ever realising she was the author behind them, and her colleagues, she said, have been “really nice” about keeping the secret.
The decision to come forward now comes down to a shift in her professional life.
“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 explained.
“But I have stepped away from my job. I’m only working like once or twice a month.”
The pressure of maintaining both lives had also taken its toll. “I just realised I was completely overwhelmed from trying to do both,” she said.
The timing also coincides with a significant moment for the franchise.
Last year’s The Housemaid film, starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, brought her work to a vast new audience, with a second film currently in production.
Despite now being known as Sara Cohen, McFadden said she would still like to be referred to by her pen name in the literary world.
And she was clear that while the name may be new information, everything else about her public persona has been authentic.
“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 them has been the truth. Even though the name will be a surprise, nothing else will. I’ve always been genuine with my readers.”
