The mystery surrounding the identity of best-selling author Freida McFadden has ended, with the writer revealing her real name is Sara Cohen.
In an interview with USA Today, Cohen confirmed that the pseudonym used for her global thriller hits is not her legal name. She stated she reached a point in her career where she was tired of the secrecy and the rumors regarding her identity.
"I'm tired of people debating if I'm a real person or if I'm three men," Cohen told USA Today. "I am a real person and I have a real identity and I don't have anything to hide."
Under the McFadden name, the author became a publishing powerhouse, ranking as the second best-selling author in the UK in 2025. She sold 2.6 million books in the UK and six million print copies in her home country.
Her success is driven largely by the massive popularity of The Housemaid, a 2022 release that was recently adapted into a film starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried.
A double life in medicine
Cohen has long balanced her literary career with her profession as a doctor specializing in brain disorders in Boston, Massachusetts. She originally chose the pen name Freida as a medical joke, referencing a hospital training registry known as the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database.
She used the pseudonym to protect her professional reputation, fearing that her medical patients might find her writing career unsettling. Telling the New York Times in 2024, she said, "At work, I want to be a doctor. 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."
Cohen also cited social anxiety and a desire to avoid the spotlight as reasons for maintaining the mask. However, her recent decision to scale back her medical work to once or twice a month has made the revelation easier.
"My whole goal was to keep it a secret until I was [ready to] step back from my doctor job," she told USA Today.
Maintaining the secret became nearly impossible earlier this year. Cohen told the Times that a hospital colleague recognized her in a photo, effectively revealing her identity to her peers.
Despite the reveal, Cohen intends to continue using the name Freida McFadden for her work. She noted that her connection with her readers, known as the 'McFans' and 'Freida Readahs,' remains built on the truth of her stories.
