The literary world received a stunning revelation this week as bestselling author Freida McFadden finally unveiled her true identity after years of speculation. The writer behind hit novels like The Housemaid and Devil Wears Scrubs is actually Dr. Sara Cohen, a 45-year-old former brain disorder specialist who maintained a double life for years.
"I'm at a point in my career when I'm tired of this being a secret," McFadden told USA Today in an exclusive interview. "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."
McFadden, who stopped practicing medicine full-time in 2023, explained that her medical colleagues discovered her secret writing career earlier than the public—thanks to an Instagram post that accidentally revealed her literary success. While her coworkers were supportive, many being fans of her books themselves, she maintained a strict separation between her two professional lives.
"When I'm at the hospital, I just want to be a doctor," she emphasized during a January interview with E! News. "And when I'm home and being an author, I just want to focus on that."
The author, who often wore wigs and glasses to maintain her anonymity, said her initial decision to use a pseudonym was strategic: "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."
Now, with dozens of books to her name and a major film adaptation starring Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, and Kirsten Dunst in development, McFadden feels ready to embrace her full identity publicly. She's set to release her next novel, Divorce, in May.
Despite the name change, McFadden assures readers that her authenticity has never wavered: "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."