Sophie Kinsella has died at the age of 55.
The British author, best known for her 2000 novel, “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of glioblastoma brain cancer in 2022.
Her family announced her passing via Instagram on Wednesday.
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing this morning of our beloved Sophie (aka Maddy, aka Mummy),” her loved ones shared on social media. “She died peacefully, with her final days filled with her true loves: family and music and warmth and Christmas and joy.”
Sophie Kinsella’s family shared a photo of the author announcing her death on Dec. 10. sophiekinsellawriter/Instagram
Sophie Kinsella at the “Can You Keep A Secret?” photocell in Rome in 2019. Getty Images
The family continued, “We can’t imagine what life will be like without her radiance and love of life.”
“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. She took nothing for granted and was forever grateful for the love she received.”
The message concluded: “She will be missed so much our hearts are breaking.”
Kinsella revealed her health battle in April 2024.
“At the end of 2022 I was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of aggressive brain cancer,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “I did not share this before because I wanted to make sure that my children were able to hear and process the news in privacy and adapt to our ‘new normal.'”
Sophie Kinsella’s book cover for “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” Dial Press Trade Paperback, Dial Press Trade Paperback, Dial Press Trade Paperback“I have been under the care of the excellent team at University College Hospital in London and have had successful surgery and subsequent radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which is still ongoing,” she explained. “At the moment all is stable and I am feeling generally very well, though I get very tired and my memory is even worse than it was before!”
She went on to “send love and best wishes” to those who also suffered from cancer.
“It can feel very lonely and scary to have a tough diagnosis, and the support and care of those around you means more than words can say,” she noted.
Actress Isla Fisher commented at the time: “Sending you so much love and healing energy. ❤️❤️.”
Isla Fisher and Krysten Ritter starred in the 2009 comedy “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett CollectionBorn in London in 1969, the author, whose real name is Madeleine Wickham, studied music at Oxford before switching to economics, politics and philosophy and becoming a financial journalist.
She debuted her first novel, “The Tennis Party,” at age 24 and went on to write six more novels under the name Wickham. She later went by Sophie Kinsella when she hit mainstream success with “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” which was initially published as “The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic.” Sophie was her middle name, and Kinsella was her mother’s maiden name.
Fisher, 49, starred in the 2009 film adaptation of Kinsella’s work. The “Wedding Crashers” actress played Becky Bloomwood, a financial journalist with a shopping addiction. The movie also starred Hugh Dancy and Krysten Ritter and was inspired by the first two books of Kinsella’s franchise. She published nine novels in the series.
Kinsella was surprised no one had thought of such an idea before.
“A light went off and I thought, ‘Hang on a minute! Why has no one done this?'” she told CBS in 2014. “It’s a feeling, it’s a lust!” she added of women’s love for retail.
Isla Fisher in 2009’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett CollectionIn 2019, Kinsella revealed that she changed her name to better suit her new books.
“I had found a new voice and way of writing, and I found it addictive. Sophie is faster and funny, with a sense of the ridiculous that I never had before,” she told Woman & Home Magazine.
Her 2003 book, “Can You Keep a Secret?,” was also adapted for film in 2019, starring Alexandra Daddario and Tyler Hoechlin.
Kinsella’s books sold more than 45 million copies in over 60 countries and has been translated into more than 40 languages. In 2024, she published her final work with “What Does It Feel Like?,” which reflected on her cancer journey.
Kinsella is survived by her husband, Henry Wickham, and their five children — Freddy, Hugo, Oscar, Rex and Sybella. The couple met when they attended Oxford together in 1991. He became her literary manager.
“We were lucky to find each other,” she told the Irish Independent in 2019. “We were fortunate to have, almost the courage to say, ‘Right this is it … We should be together. We’ll be a great team.’”
