Sophie Kinsella, the bestselling British author widely known for her Shopaholic series, has died at the age of 55, her family announced on Wednesday.
Kinsella, whose real name was Madeleine Sophie Wickham, was diagnosed in 2022 with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. In a statement posted on her official social media accounts, her family said she died peacefully, adding: “We are heartbroken… She died peacefully, with her final days filled with her true loves: family and music and warmth and Christmas and joy.”
Born in London in 1969, Kinsella studied at Oxford and began her career writing under her married name, publishing her first novel, The Tennis Party, at the age of 24 while working as a financial journalist. She achieved global success after releasing The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic in 2000, the first in a series that followed fictional journalist Becky Bloomwood and went on to sell more than 50 million copies in over 60 countries.
Two of the Shopaholic novels were adapted into the 2009 feature film Confessions of a Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher. Over the course of her career, Kinsella wrote more than 30 books, ranging from romantic comedy and general fiction to children’s and young adult titles, including Can You Keep a Secret? and The Undomestic Goddess.
Her most recent work, What Does It Feel Like?, published in 2024, was a semi-fictional account of her cancer diagnosis and treatment, which she described as a way of processing her illness through writing.
Publishers and representatives praised her contribution to contemporary romantic fiction, saying she “elevated romantic comedy” by combining humour, emotional depth and social insight.
Kinsella is survived by her husband Henry and their five children.
