Sophie Kinsella, author of the best-selling ‘Shopaholic’ novels, dies at 55

Sophie Kinsella, the author of “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and a series of millions-selling sequels died Monday, her family said. She was 55 and had been diagnosed with brain cancer.

The family said in a statement on Kinsella’s Instagram account: “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.

“We can’t imagine what life will be like without her radiance and love of life.”

Kinsella, who also published under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, announced in April 2024 that she had been diagnosed in late 2022 with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

“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,'” she said at the time.

Starting in 2000 with “The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic,” (titled “Confessions of a Shopaholic” in the United States), about a financial journalist who writes about money matters but fails miserably at managing her own, Kinsella published 10 “Shopaholic” novels, along with other fiction. Her books have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide and have been translated into dozens of languages.

The first two “Shopaholic” books were adapted into the 2009 film “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” starring Isla Fisher.