You don't have to be a pop-star to live a Hannah Montana life, you can be a best-selling author too!
Just ask Freida McFadden — or should we say, Sara Cohen — the highly-successful author behind The Housemaid, now a budding movie franchise, who has been doing just that.
And though she had previously shared that she does have a pseudonym so as to protect her real identity, she has for the first time revealed what her real name is. Here's what to know.
© WireImageFreida's real identity
Speaking with USA Today, Freida shared that as the success of The Housemaid skyrockets even more (a second movie based on the second novel is already in the works) "it's time" to unveil her true identity. "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 am a real person and I have a real identity and I don't have anything to hide," she added.
© WireImageHer double life
Freida, 45, was raised in New York City, studied mathematics at Harvard University, and later attended medical school, during which she started creative writing on the side. She self-published her first book, The Devil Wears Scrubs, in 2013, which was inspired by her experiences as a medical intern.
Today, she is still a physician specializing in brain injury medicine — and has also written over 20 books, including three for The Housemaid series.
"It's so much more boring than anything that happens in my books," she further told USA Today of her real life outside of the book world, noting she created the pseudonym over a decade ago so her writing career wouldn't conflict with her medical career.
"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," she shared.
© Getty ImagesWhat she's doing now
Since the success of The Housemaid — she has sold over 6 million books worldwide and the movie grossed over $399 million worldwide against a $35 million budget — Freida has in fact stepped away from her medical job, working only once or twice a month. "I just realized I was completely overwhelmed from trying to do both," she said."
She also maintained that though she did keep up a pseudonym for several years, and wore wigs to further disguise herself, everything she ever shared about herself was true. "Even though I haven't told my real name until now, I feel like I have shared the real me all along and everything I've told them has been the truth," she said. "Even though the name will be a surprise, nothing else will. I've always been genuine with my readers."
