‘The Housemaid’ Author Reveals Shocking Reason She Hid Her Identity for Over Two Decades

It has been a mystery in the publishing world for two decades, but now bestselling author Freida McFadden has revealed her true identity after keeping it hidden for 23 years.

The thriller queen behind The Housemaid is actually a doctor named Sara Cohen, and the reason she wore disguises is more surprising than fans expected.

Cohen was secretly living a double life as a physician in Boston, Massachusetts, treating patients with brain disorders. She worried that being recognized as a bestselling author could seriously interfere with her credibility at work, she revealed to USA Today  in a story published on Wednesday, April 8.

On her decision to tell the world her real name, she told the outlet: “I’m at a point in my career when I’m tired of this being a secret,” she explained. “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.”

Cohen wore wigs and different glasses whenever she was appearing as McFadden, explaining to the New York Times in 2024: “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.”

Now however, she feels the time is right to come into the spotlight, especially since she is now only working “once or twice a month.”

Using the name McFadden and appearing at events in disguise has certainly not harmed her career as an author.

She has millions of sales around the world and 29 published novels. The first Housemaid movie, based on the 2022 book, was released last year starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney.

As time had gone on it had also become more difficult to maintain her double identity.

Speaking to The Times in January, she said: “One of my colleagues at the hospital recently  recognized me in a Freida photo, and told everyone, so the cat is out of the bag.

“But they’ve been really respectful about not posting anything about me on social media, and I tried to repay them with a book signing at work.”