‘The Housemaid’ Author Freida McFadden Reveals She Is Actually Dr. Sara Cohen

Bestselling psychological thriller author Freida McFadden, known for The Housemaid and Dear Debbie, has revealed her long-guarded secret: she is actually Dr. Sara Cohen, a physician specialising in brain disorders. For years, McFadden’s identity was shrouded in mystery, but the author recently confirmed her true life in an interview.

Under her pseudonym, McFadden published her first book, The Devil Wears Scrubs, in 2013, and later gained international fame with The Housemaid (2022), which was adapted into a 2025 film starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. Speaking about her dual careers, Cohen said, “I’m at a point in my career when I’m tired of this being a secret. I’m a real person, and I have a real identity, and I don’t have anything to hide.”

Cohen explained that the pseudonym allowed her to balance her medical and writing careers without conflicts. She now works as a physician only once or twice a month, after having stepped back from full-time practice. Her background includes a Harvard mathematics degree (2001), medical training at SUNY Stony Brook, and a fellowship at Boston VA Hospital, specialising in traumatic brain injury rehabilitation.

The name Freida McFadden was inspired by the FREIDA database, a tool Cohen used in her medical career. Before her rise as a thriller author, she wrote medical humour novels based on her experiences in training. Now 46, Dr. Sara Cohen continues to combine her passions for medicine and writing while finally revealing her true identity to fans worldwide.