Sophie Kinsella, the London-born novelist behind the global Shopaholic series, has died in Camden, London, aged 55 after a battle with brain cancer.
Who was Sophie Kinsella?
Born Madeleine Sophie Townley on 12 December 1969, Kinsella grew up in south-west London and studied at several schools before reading Politics, Philosophy and Economics at New College, Oxford.
She started her career as a financial journalist, working for titles such as Pensions World, before turning to fiction in her mid-20s.
Her first novel, The Tennis Party, was published when she was 26 and became a top-ten bestseller in the UK.
She went on to publish a string of novels under her married name, Madeleine Wickham, including A Desirable Residence, Swimming Pool Sunday and Cocktails for Three.
How did Sophie Kinsella die?
Kinsella’s family announced her death in a statement posted to her official Instagram account on Monday.
They said they were “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.”
In April 2024, Kinsella revealed that she had been diagnosed in late 2022 with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, explaining that she had waited to speak publicly so her children could “hear and process the news in privacy and adapt to our new normal.”
The rise of the Shopaholic series
Kinsella adopted her pen name by combining her middle name with her mother’s maiden name and initially submitted her first “Sophie Kinsella” manuscript anonymously to her publisher.
That book, The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic(published in some markets as Confessions of a Shopaholic), introduced readers to Becky Bloomwood, a financial journalist who struggles to control her own spending.
The novel became the first in a long-running Shopaholic series that ultimately reached 10 books, including Shopaholic Abroad, Shopaholic & Sister and Christmas Shopaholic.
The first two books were adapted into the 2009 film Confessions of a Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher, which introduced Kinsella’s characters to a wider global audience.
Across her pen-name and real-name catalogues, Kinsella’s books have sold more than 50 million copies in over 60 countries and been translated into more than 40 languages, making her one of the most commercially successful contemporary British rom-com writers.
Beyond Shopaholic: other books and awards
Outside the Shopaholic universe, Kinsella wrote numerous standalone bestsellers such as Can You Keep a Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me?, My Not So Perfect Life and The Burnout.
She also branched into young-adult fiction with Finding Audrey and wrote children’s books including the Mummy Fairy and Me series.
Her 2024 novel What Does It Feel Like? was selected as one of The New York Times’ 100 notable books of the year and listed by The Guardian among the five best romance books of 2024.
In 2025 she was shortlisted as Author of the Year at the British Book Awards, underlining her continued critical recognition three decades into her career.
Family life and legacy
Kinsella married Henry Wickham in 1991 after meeting him at Oxford. A schoolmaster who later became head of Lockers Park School, he also helped manage her business affairs.
The couple lived between Dorset and London and had five children together.
Tributes from readers and fellow writers have focused on the warmth and humour of her work and on how Becky Bloomwood and other characters helped define the modern romantic-comedy novel for millions of readers.
