Her global sales, including audio and ebook formats, are estimated at 36 million. According to The Guardian - Main UK, Freida McFadden described being tired of debates over her identity, as she uses a pseudonym to separate her writing from her medical career. Her real name is Sara Cohen, and she adopted the name 'Freida' from the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database, a registry of medical placements.
McFadden self-published her first book in 2013 while working as a doctor specializing in brain disorders in Boston, Massachusetts, and wrote novels while holding down her day job and raising two children. She stepped back from hospital duties in late 2023 and now only works occasionally. Her major mainstream hit came with 'The Housemaid', a dark and ultra-twisty 2022 book about a young maid working for a wealthy couple.
I'm tired of people debating if I'm a real person or if I'm three men.
A film adaptation of 'The Housemaid', starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, was released in December and grossed $400 million worldwide. Multiple further screen adaptations of her works are planned, though specific titles and details have not been disclosed. Publisher Bookouture persuaded McFadden to sell 'The Housemaid' through a traditional route after her decade-long run of self-publishing.
The exact number of books she publishes per year and which authors she outsold to become the UK's bestselling novelist remain unknown.