The writer behind The Housemaid has publicly confirmed who she is following the novel’s big-screen adaptation.
Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried lead the Lionsgate psychological thriller, which follows a young woman who accepts a housekeeping job in the home of a wealthy couple.
What starts as a promising opportunity soon grows unsettling, as boundaries shift and the connections between the maid and the couple become increasingly complicated.
The movie proved to be a major hit, taking in $400 million globally against a $35 million budget.
The bestselling book was released under the name Freida McFadden — but that name, the author has now confirmed, is a pen name.
In an interview with USA Today, she disclosed the truth about her identity and opened up about what she does outside of writing.
Her real name is Sara Cohen, and when she isn’t publishing thrillers, she works as a doctor with a focus on the brain.
The Housemaid first arrived in 2022, and Cohen said she took a year away from practising medicine around the time it was being published.
Explaining why she chose to reveal her identity now, she said: “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.”
Cohen also said that initially she tried to keep the pseudonym completely under wraps.
But before long, people in her professional world began putting the pieces together — realising the person they worked with in medicine was also the author topping bookshelves.
She said part of the reason for staying anonymous was to avoid any fallout at the hospital, worrying that her fiction career could interfere with her day-to-day work.
“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,” she said.
Now, Cohen says she has largely moved away from that role and is only taking on limited shifts each month.
She said: “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.”