“The Housemaid” author Freida McFadden is finally dropping the disguise — and the double life.
McFadden revealed Wednesday that her real name is Sara Cohen and that she is a New York-born doctor who treated brain disorders as she has built a publishing empire over the last 23 years.
“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 told USA Today. “I am a real person and I have a real identity and I don’t have anything to hide.”
As she concealed her true identity and maintained her privacy, McFadden appeared publicly in a wig and glasses. She clarified that the glasses are her own, while the hair was a wig.
“I have no idea how to style my hair,” she told the outlet, adding, “It’s so much more boring than anything that happens in my books.”
Cohen, 45, grew up in Manhattan and first published “The Devil Wears Scrubs” in 2013, but it wasn’t until the release of “The Housemaid” in 2022 that she became a household name.
Her success has jumped to Hollywood, with last year’s film adaptation of “The Housemaid” starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, and sequel “The Housemaid’s Secret” already in the works — making it harder than ever to stay anonymous.
Cohen wanted to keep her author work 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.
She scaled back her medical work in late 2023 and now works just once or twice a month.
But even before going public, her colleagues had already figured her identity out — and kept quiet.
“They were really nice about it,” she said, noting many coworkers were already fans of her books without realizing they were working alongside the author. She’s since started bringing copies into the hospital.
Still, juggling both worlds took a toll.
“I just realized I was completely overwhelmed from trying to do both,” she said.
The mystery surrounding Cohen’s identity fueled wild online speculation. Speaking on “Open Book with Jenna Bush Hager,” she addressed the rumors head-on.
“Some of them are just so out there. Some of it is great. I think every author gets ‘AI is writing her books,’ even though most of them were written before AI,” she said.
“One that’s very funny is people saying that I’m three men, and I think that’s hilarious.”
But keeping her identity secret also meant missing out on the spotlight.
“It’s very hard,” she admitted. “I see all these authors doing these huge book tours, which I never do, and I feel so bad that I never do it.”
Writing, she insists, was never supposed to replace her career in medicine.
“Some people go into writing hoping to quit their day job, but I didn’t do it [for that reason]. I was just having fun,” she said.
“I kept clinging to being a doctor because, first, I worked very hard to get there and I find it really rewarding. I love seeing patients and helping people.”
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