Author Freida McFadden Reveals Her Real Name: Meet Dr. Sara Cohen
What To Know
- Bestselling psychological thriller author Freida McFadden has confirmed her true identity.
- McFadden had previously revealed that she’s also a doctor.
- Despite revealing her real name, she will continue publishing under her pseudonym.
For over a decade, Freida McFadden has penned psychological thrillers under a pen name. While she had disclosed her day job, revealing that she has a medical background, she has never confirmed her true identity — until now!
On April 9, McFadden revealed her real name in an interview with USA Today, and while her signature look does include a wig, the glasses she has sported at book signings and The Housemaid press events are real. She explained, “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.”
Scroll to find out all about McFadden’s life outside of the literary world, including where she is from, why she decided to write under a pseudonym, and whether she’ll continue to write under her pen name.
What is Freida McFadden’s real name?
Freida McFadden has revealed that her real name is Sara Cohen, or Dr. Sara Cohen, to be exact. Cohen worked as a doctor, treating brain disorders at a hospital outside of Boston for years. However, she left her full-time hospital position in 2023. According to McFadden, she eventually revealed her literary identity to her coworkers and was met with shock, once again proving that absolutely no one would have suspected that Miley Stewart was Hannah Montana.
Where is Sara Cohen from?
Cohen is from Midtown Manhattan, where she grew up with now-divorced parents who were both doctors, and her brother, who is now a music producer. Much like Cohen, her parents worked in a hospital, where her father was a psychiatrist, and her mother was a podiatrist. Today, she lives in the Boston area with her husband and two kids.
Why did Sara Cohen change her name to Freida McFadden?
According to McFadden, she decided to keep her identity a secret so that her role as an author would not impact her job. “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,” McFadden told USA Today. Now that she’s left her position, she decided that it’s time to “unmask.”
Will she continue to use Freida McFadden?
McFadden has confirmed that she still wishes to be referred to as “Freida” in literary settings, so fans won’t be seeing Sara Cohen on the cover of her novels anytime soon.
