'The Housemaid' Author Freida McFadden Reveals True Identity
April 9, 2026 
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‘The Housemaid’
Author Freida McFadden Reveals Real Name
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“The Housemaid” author Freida McFadden just ripped off her own mask … saying she’s done living a “Hannah Montana”-esque double life after concealing her true identity and using a pen name for years.
The popular author revealed to USA Today Wednesday her real name is Sara Cohen — a doctor from New York who treats brain disorders when she’s not cranking out her next thriller novel. Talk about a plot twist!
Freida hid her identity for years … but, people began figuring her act out … and she says it’s time to come forward.
She explains … “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 have a real identity and I don’t have anything to hide.”
She says she created her persona so her writing life would not interfere with her ability to do her doctor job. She stopped working full-time in 2023, and works just once or twice a month now. And, she wears wigs — but not to conceal her identity — she said she doesn’t know how to style her hair!
Freida is best known for her bestseller, the psychological thriller “The Housemaid,” which she published in 2022 and got the big-screen treatment with a film starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, released in December 2025. The film scored big at the box office, raking in about $400 million globally … and now a second installment is in the works.
For anyone interested in checking out her other work … Freida’s got more than 30 novels and short stories in her collection, with 2 more books dropping this year.
And now that her wig’s off, she tells fans not to expect anything different … noting, “Even though the name will be a surprise, nothing else will. I’ve always been genuine with my readers.”
