‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ Author Sophie Kinsella Dies at 55 Following Private Cancer Battle

Bestselling novelist Sophie Kinsella, beloved creator of the Confessions of a Shopaholic series, has died at 55.

According to her family, Kinsella — born Madeleine Sophie Wickham — passed away on Wednesday, December 10 following a private battle with brain cancer, which she first revealed publicly in April 2024. She had been undergoing treatment since 2022.

“We are heartbroken to announce the passing this morning of our beloved Sophie (aka Maddy, aka Mummy). She died peacefully, with her final days filled with her true loves: family and music and warmth and Christmas and joy,” her family shared in an Instagram statement, calling her courage “unimaginable.”

Kinsella became a literary sensation with her 2000 novel The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic, which introduced readers to Becky Bloomwood and inspired the 2009 film starring Isla Fisher.

She wrote more than 30 books under her pen name and her birth name, including her final, deeply personal 2024 novel What Does It Feel Like?

She is survived by her husband Henry Wickham and their five children — Freddy, Hugo, Oscar, Rex and Sybella.