A popular US author who penned the novel that served as the source material for a successful Hollywood film has revealed her true identity. In 2022, the best-selling author Freida McFadden published The Housemaid, a psychological thriller that follows a young maid who takes a job with a wealthy family.

It was later adapted into a hit Lionsgate film in 2025, starring Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. It raked in $400 million worldwide (£297m) - but that was far from Freida McFadden's only triumph. Last year, she became the UK's second best-selling author of 2025, beaten only by Julia Donaldson of The Gruffalo fame. Her books have sold 2.6 million copies in the UK, alongside six million print sales in the US.

Freida's name, however, is a pseudonym - a fact she reportedly has not tried to hide. But it appears she has grown "tired" of the secrecy and is now fed up with people "debating" her identity. Her real name is, in fact, Sara Cohen.

She told USA Today: "I'm at a point in my career when I'm tired of this being a secret." Sara added: "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."

Sara has published 29 novels so far, with three bestsellers this year alone: The Housemaid, Want to Know a Secret? and Dear Debbie. However, her entry into the literary world was seemingly influenced by her work in another field.

She also works as a doctor specialising in brain disorders, a profession she continued alongside writing. Her first book, The Devil Wears Scrubs, was published in 2013 and tells a fictionalised version of her life as a medic.

Her work in medicine even influenced her pen name. "Frieda" is a reference to a hospital training database called the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA).

Sara explained why she opted for a pseudonym in a New York Times interview in 2024. She said at the time: "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."

In further comments to USA Today, Sara reiterated that her second career influenced her decision to keep her identity private until she was in a position where she could "step back".

She said: "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."

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