Watch: Housemaid Author Freida McFadden Finally Reveals Her Real IdentityFreida McFadden blew her colleagues' minds after revealing her real identity. Though The Housemaid author didn't publicly disclose her true identity as brain disorder doctor Sara Cohen until this week, she said her former medical colleagues learned she was a best-selling author much earlier-and they had quite the reaction to the shocking news. "I didn't tell anyone at work that I was writing," the 45-year-old told E! News in an exclusive interview in January.