{"id":1874315,"date":"2026-04-09T15:33:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T12:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1874315"},"modified":"2026-04-09T15:33:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T12:33:24","slug":"im-tired-of-people-debating-if-im-a-real-person-or-if-im-three-men-the-housemaid-author-finally-reveals-her-true-identity-and-profession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1874315","title":{"rendered":"‘I’m Tired of People Debating if I’m a Real Person or if I’m Three Men’ \u2014 The Housemaid Author Finally Reveals Her True Identity and Profession"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Housemaid<\/a> was one of the juiciest movies to come out in 2025 and it certainly helped end the cinematic year with a bang. Now, the author of the book series the film is based on, Frieda McFadden, has finally revealed her real-life identity beyond her pen name.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

During a recent interview with USA Today<\/a>, McFadden said it was \u201ctime\u201d to let her readers know her real name, which is Sara Cohen, and her real occupation, a doctor who treats brain disorders. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m at a point in my career when I\u2019m tired of this being a secret,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m tired of people debating if I\u2019m a real person or if I\u2019m three men. I am a real person and I have a real identity and I don\u2019t have anything to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n

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According to the author, she attempted to keep her pen name a secret from her medical professional peers, but that didn\u2019t last too long. Cohen claimed her coworkers were \u201creally nice\u201d about her double life and swore themselves to secrecy so she could continue using her pen name without interruption. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy whole goal was to keep it a secret until I was [ready to] step back from my doctor job, so it wouldn\u2019t be like everyone I work with suddenly knew and it compromised my ability to do my job,\u201d she explained. \u201cBut I have stepped away from my job. I\u2019m only working like once or twice a month.\u201d Cohen also took a sabbatical right after publishing The Housemaid in 2022, which probably helped tip off the other hospital staff members. <\/p>\n

That said, Cohen feels as though she will be the same person she was to her readers before the reveal \u2014 and she also plans to keep using her pseudonym. \u201cEven though I haven\u2019t told my real name until now, I feel like I have shared the real me all along and everything I\u2019ve told them has been the truth,\u201d she continued. \u201cEven though the name will be a surprise, nothing else will. I\u2019ve always been genuine with my readers.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Freida McFadden at The Housemaid New York screening in December, 2025. Photo by Manoli Figetakis\/WireImage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Housemaid, the first book in Cohen\u2019s multi-book series, was adapted for the screen by Rebecca Sonnenshine and directed by Paul Feig. Starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, the movie (and book) follows a young woman who comes to work as a live-in housekeeper for an increasingly unhinged married couple who harbor a whole host of troubling secrets. <\/p>\n

The movie was a major hit at the box office, grossing just under $400 million globally<\/a>. That success has put a sequel<\/a>, based on the second book in the series titled The Housemaid\u2019s Secret, on the development track with Feig and Sweeney returning. Kirsten Dunst was reported to have joined the cast<\/a> last month. <\/p>\n

The sequel film is set to be released in theaters in December 2027, but for now, you can catch the first movie on Starz or rent it via Prime Video or Apple TV. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Photo by Manoli Figetakis\/WireImage.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n

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The Housemaid<\/a> was one of the juiciest movies to come out in 2025 and it certainly helped end the cinematic year with a bang. Now, the author of the book series the film is based on, Frieda McFadden, has finally revealed her real-life identity beyond her pen name.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

During a recent interview with USA Today<\/a>, McFadden said it was \u201ctime\u201d to let her readers know her real name, which is Sara Cohen, and her real occupation, a doctor who treats brain disorders. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m at a point in my career when I\u2019m tired of this being a secret,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m tired of people debating if I\u2019m a real person or if I\u2019m three men. I am a real person and I have a real identity and I don\u2019t have anything to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

According to the author, she attempted to keep her pen name a secret from her medical professional peers, but that didn\u2019t last too long. Cohen claimed her coworkers were \u201creally nice\u201d about her double life and swore themselves to secrecy so she could continue using her pen name without interruption. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy whole goal was to keep it a secret until I was [ready to] step back from my doctor job, so it wouldn\u2019t be like everyone I work with suddenly knew and it compromised my ability to do my job,\u201d she explained. \u201cBut I have stepped away from my job. I\u2019m only working like once or twice a month.\u201d Cohen also took a sabbatical right after publishing The Housemaid in 2022, which probably helped tip off the other hospital staff members. <\/p>\n

That said, Cohen feels as though she will be the same person she was to her readers before the reveal \u2014 and she also plans to keep using her pseudonym. \u201cEven though I haven\u2019t told my real name until now, I feel like I have shared the real me all along and everything I\u2019ve told them has been the truth,\u201d she continued. \u201cEven though the name will be a surprise, nothing else will. I\u2019ve always been genuine with my readers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"null\"<\/a>
Freida McFadden at The Housemaid New York screening in December, 2025. Photo by Manoli Figetakis\/WireImage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Housemaid, the first book in Cohen\u2019s multi-book series, was adapted for the screen by Rebecca Sonnenshine and directed by Paul Feig. Starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, the movie (and book) follows a young woman who comes to work as a live-in housekeeper for an increasingly unhinged married couple who harbor a whole host of troubling secrets. <\/p>\n

The movie was a major hit at the box office, grossing just under $400 million globally<\/a>. That success has put a sequel<\/a>, based on the second book in the series titled The Housemaid\u2019s Secret, on the development track with Feig and Sweeney returning. Kirsten Dunst was reported to have joined the cast<\/a> last month. <\/p>\n

The sequel film is set to be released in theaters in December 2027, but for now, you can catch the first movie on Starz or rent it via Prime Video or Apple TV. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Photo by Manoli Figetakis\/WireImage.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Housemaid was one of the juiciest movies to come out in 2025 and it certainly helped end the cinematic year with a bang. Now, the author of the book series the film is based on, Frieda McFadden, has finally revealed her real-life identity beyond her pen name. During a recent interview with USA Today, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,243],"class_list":["post-1874315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-ign-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1874315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874315\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1874315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1874315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1874315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}