Bestselling author Sophie Kinsella, known worldwide for the hit “Shopaholic” series, has died at the age of 55, her family announced on Wednesday. The news comes 18 months after she revealed she had an aggressive form of brain cancer. Kinsella sold more than 50 million books in 60 countries, with translations into over 40 languages.
Family announces her passing
Her family shared the news in a post on her official Instagram account, “We are heartbroken to announce the passing this morning of our beloved Sophie (aka Maddy, aka Mummy).” They added that she died peacefully, surrounded by her “true loves: family, music, warmth, Christmas, and joy.”
“Despite her illness, which she bore with unimaginable courage, Sophie counted herself truly blessed, to have such wonderful family and friends, and to have had the extraordinary success of her writing career,” they wrote.
Earlier life and background
Born in London in 1969, Kinsella studied music at Oxford before switching to Philosophy, Politics and Economics. She later worked as a financial journalist but found the job dull, using her commute to read novels by writers she admired.
That reading inspired her to write her own book, leading to a career that would define modern romantic comedy writing. She was often called “the queen of romantic comedy.” Kinsella met her husband Henry Wickham on her first night at Oxford. They married when she was 21 and have five children. She is survived by her family.
Rise to fame with the ‘Shopaholic’ series
Kinsella first became famous with her 2000 novel “The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic,” also known as “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” The book follows Becky Bloomwood, a journalist who loves shopping but struggles with money. The story became a cultural phenomenon and led to a 10-book series. It was later adapted into a 2009 Disney film starring Isla Fisher.
Before becoming Sophie Kinsella, she wrote seven novels under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, beginning with “The Tennis Party,” published when she was just 24 and working as a financial journalist.
Her Wickham books were “rather different” from the later Kinsella titles, “They’re a bit more serious, a bit darker and are all ensemble pieces without a main heroine,” she once said.
Over three decades, she wrote 34 books across adult fiction, young adult, and children’s literature. Her agents, Araminta Whitley and Marina de Pass, told The Bookseller, “Over the last three decades, her success has been truly international: she published thirty-four novels across adult, YA and children’s publishing that have topped charts around the world, breaking records and defying expectations.”
She also authored the children’s series “Mummy Fairy and Me” and the YA novel “Finding Audrey.”
Facing cancer with courage
In April 2024, Kinsella revealed she had been diagnosed with glioblastoma at the end of 2022 and had undergone surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy while being treated at University College London. Her 2023 novella “What Does it Feel Like?” was inspired by her cancer treatment and became a bestseller.