'The Housemaid' Author Freida McFadden Reveals Her True Identity And Secret Life, 'My Goal Was...'

Forget Hannah Montana, we have a real celebrity who has been living a double life for years while balancing two largely different careers. Freida McFadden, the bestselling psychological thriller author of The Housemaid and Dear Debbie, has just removed her mask. After years of curiosity surrounding the real person behind the pseudonym, McFadden remained one of the biggest mysteries in the publishing world. Now, she has finally stepped forward, revealing that she is actually Dr. Sara Cohen, a physician with a bright medical career.

Freida McFadden unveils her double life

In something that sounds like something just pulled from one of her own books, Freida McFadden has revealed her double life: a brain doctor in the day and a wildly successful author by night. Under her pseudonym, she published her first novel, The Devil Wears Scrubs, part of the Dr. Jane McGill series, in 2013. Her initial books were medical humour and thrillers, but she found her true niche in psychological suspense.

Freida McFadden gained breakout success with The Housemaid (2022), the book that was later adapted into a 2025 film starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. So, who really is Freida McFadden? In a new interview with USA Today, the bestselling author revealed that she is Sara Cohen, a doctor who specialises in brain disorders. She keeps her identity hidden in public, appearing with a wig and glasses. Her glasses, however, are real. Speaking about her disguise, she told the outlet:

"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. I am a real person, and I have a real identity, and I don't have anything to hide."

Why is she speaking out about her real identity now?

After years of speculation, including rumors that she wasn’t even a real person, Cohen says she reached a breaking point and wanted to be validated for who she is. The author told the outlet that she wanted to keep her careers separate and not let her writing career conflict with her job as a medical professional. Using the Frida McFadden alias, she found it easier to balance both careers with less conflict.

Cohen says she wanted to keep her identity a secret until she was actively doing her job as a doctor. While she still hasn't completely left her medical career, she has stepped away from working full-time. She shared:

"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. But I have stepped away from my job. I'm only working like once or twice a month."

Who is Sara Cohen behind the mask?

Sara Cohen (alias Freida McFadden) has been balancing both professions for over a decade. She is a physical medicine and rehabilitation professional, specialising in traumatic brain injury. Her mother, Ellen Sobel, was a podiatrist, while her father, Dr. Carl Cohen, was a renowned psychiatrist. After graduating from Harvard in 2001 with a degree in specialised mathematics, Cohen joined Stony Brook University, New York, at SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine.

At Stony Brook, she focused on traumatic brain injury rehabilitation and later specialised in physical medicine. After finishing her medical training, Cohen worked as a fellow at the Boston VA Hospital until 2010. Regarding her pseudonym, she revealed that it was inspired by a tool that she regularly used: FREIDA (the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database).

Credit: The Daily Mail

Before becoming a bestselling psychological thriller author, Cohen used to write medical humour novels as Freida McFadden, sharing snapshots of her own experiences in medical training and practice. Now 46, Dr. Sara Cohen practices in Boston, Massachusetts. She has significantly reduced her medical practice since 2023, and now she only works once or twice a month.

What are your thoughts on Freida McFadden's real identity? Let us know.

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