‘The Housemaid’ Author Frieda McFadden Reveals She’s A Brain Doctor

Best-selling author Frieda McFadden revealed her true identity after years of masking her real name.

McFadden, best recognized as the exceptional writer behind the thriller “The Housemaid,” “Want to Know a Secret?” and “Dear Debbie,” has always been open about being a doctor, but she concealed her true identity from fans until a USA Today interview Wednesday. She decided it was time to unveil her real name, Sara Cohen.

“I’m at a point in my career when I’m tired of this being a secret,” Cohen, a doctor responsible for treating brain disorders, told the outlet. “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.”

“The Housemaid” author Freida McFadden has unveiled her true identity. She said her real name is Sara Cohen, and she works as a brain doctor when not writing books:

“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… pic.twitter.com/IcDQLND0vi

— Variety (@Variety) April 9, 2026

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 15: Amanda Seyfried attends Lionsgate’s LA Premiere of “The Housemaid” at TCL Chinese Theatre on December 15, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matei Horvath/Getty Images for Lionsgate)

Cohen explained that she took on a different persona when she self-published her first book, “The Devil Wears Scrubs,” in 2013, according to the BBC. The fiction book was based on her life as a resident doctor. She said she fabricated the name Frieda as a medical joke, naming herself after the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database at the hospital.

McFadden wrote her books while while simultaneously continuing her job in Boston, Massachusetts, focused on brain disorders, according to the outlet. She managed to become 2025’s second best-selling author in Britain, selling a whopping 2.6 million books while simultaneously continuing her job in Boston, Massachusetts. By that point, she had already begun working part-time in the medical field, she told USA Today.

US actress Sydney Sweeney attends the LA premiere of Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid” at the TCL Chinese theatre in Los Angeles, on December 15, 2025. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

In a 2024 interview with the New York Times, McFadden said she worried her patients might not feel comfortable receiving medical care from a best-selling thriller writer.

“At work, I want to be a doctor,” she said at the time. “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.”

McFadden’s best-selling book “The Housemaid” was adapted to film in 2025 starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. She has published a total of 29 books over the course of her career, according to the BBC. (RELATED: Michael J. Fox Assures Fans He’s ‘Ok’ After Seeing Life Tribute Posted By CNN)

“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,” she told USA Today.

“Even though the name will be a surprise, nothing else will. I’ve always been genuine with my readers.”