Home / Arts and Entertainment / Doctor turned author Sara Cohen tops bestseller lists
Doctor turned author Sara Cohen tops bestseller lists
20 Apr
Summary
- Author Freida McFadden, real name Sara Cohen, was UK's top novelist in 2025.
- Her novel 'The Housemaid' film adaptation grossed $400m worldwide.
- McFadden publishes prolifically, with a young, predominantly female fanbase.
Sara Cohen, now known to her millions of fans as Freida McFadden, achieved the status of the UK's bestselling novelist in 2025. She sold 2.6 million print copies of her books within that year alone, with global sales estimated at 36 million across all formats.
Cohen, who revealed her real name earlier this year, previously used the pseudonym to separate her medical career as a doctor from her writing. Her blockbuster psychological thriller, 'The Housemaid,' released in 2022, was a significant mainstream hit, leading to a film adaptation released in December that grossed $400 million worldwide.
McFadden's success is attributed to her prolific writing schedule, publishing multiple books annually. This consistent output, combined with her accessible storytelling, plot twists, and short chapters, appeals to a large fanbase, predominantly women aged 24 to 34. Her popularity has surged on platforms like BookTok, driving international sales, with four of her thrillers topping the bestseller charts in France last year.
McFadden, who grew up in Manhattan and studied at Harvard before pursuing medicine, now lives in Boston. While she has stepped back from regular hospital duties, she continues to write under the Freida McFadden pen name, with several new books slated for release in 2026.
