The Story Behind the Housemaid

A new phenomenon has taken over the theater and the internet. Starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, The Housemaid was released in theaters on December 19, making around two hundred ninety five million dollars worldwide. While the movie initially seems inspiring as the audience hopes to see the young protagonist Millie succeed in her new job, the plot of the movie quickly takes a turn leaving the audience on the edge of their seats.

The film rights to Freida McFadden’s book were bought by Lionsgate and Hidden Pictures in early 2022 and filming began in early 2025. Perhaps more fascinating than the plot of the movie is the life of its author. Freida McFadden is a pen name, her real identity remains unknown, while she attended red carpets and interviews for the movie, the author wore wigs and makeup to keep her identity hidden.  McFadden does this to keep boundaries between her two careers, not only is she an author, McFadden is a practicing physician who specializes in brain injuries. Her background in medicine and neurology help her create sick, cynical characters and make for an incredibly interesting plot. Unlike most authors, McFadden is a self-publisher. While she did try to publish her writing the traditional way her attempts ultimately failed and she took matters into her own hands. She self-published her first novel The Devil Wears Scrubs on Amazon in 2013 and since then has published twenty eight more novels. The Housemaid  was McFadden’s first novel that was not self-published, while McFadden enjoyed self-publishing one can see why she ultimately went to a professional publisher as she has so much work to do. After years of writing, McFadden’s work blew up, her books gained recognition on “BookTok” and within weeks hundreds of thousands of copies of The Housemaid sold. “I can see how the book became so wildly popular so quickly. After I watched the movie I went to the book store and bought the sequel to The Housemaid, I just could not wait for the second movie” said junior Ann Rosengren. Due to the success of the first movie, Lionsgate and Hidden Pictures have agreed to produce the next novel in The Housemaid series, The Housemaid’s Secret which is set to begin production in 2026.