Sophie Kinsella, author of the millions-selling ‘Shopaholic’ novels,
dies at 55
[December 11, 2025]
By JILL LAWLESS and ALICIA RANCILIO
LONDON (AP) — Writer Sophie Kinsella, whose effervescent rom-com
“Confessions of a Shopaholic” sparked a millions-selling series, died
Wednesday, her family said. She was 55 and had been diagnosed with brain
cancer.
The family said in a statement on Kinsella's Instagram account that "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,” the family said.
Kinsella, who also published under her real name, Madeleine Wickham,
announced in April 2024 that she had been diagnosed more than a year
earlier 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.
Kinsella published 10 “Shopaholic” novels starting in 2000 with “The
Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic,” titled “Confessions of a Shopaholic”
in the United States, as well as other fiction. Her books have sold more
than 45 million copies worldwide and have been translated into dozens of
languages.
From journalism to fiction
Kinsella did not grow up intending to be a writer. One of three girls
born to teachers in London, she played piano and violin as a child and
also composed music.
She told author-publisher Zibby Owens on her podcast, “Moms Don’t Have
Time to Read Books,” that the idea of writing never crossed her mind.
“It wasn’t my childhood ambition. I wasn’t the child walking around
saying, ‘I’m going to write a novel one day.’”
Kinsella enrolled at Oxford University to study music but switched to
the politics, philosophy and economics program after one year.
While at college, she met musician Henry Wickham and fell in love. The
couple had four sons and a daughter.
After graduating, Kinsella began working as a financial journalist and
spent her commute reading. The idea to write fiction herself began to
take shape on the train, and she worked on her first novel during her
lunch hours.
She published her first novel, ”The Tennis Party,” in 1995, as Madeleine
Wickham. Soon after, she left her journalism job to focus on writing.
Six other books, including “The Gatecrasher” and “Sleeping
Arrangements,” followed.
‘Shopaholic’ success
An otherwise normal shopping excursion sparked the idea for writing her
first “Shopaholic” novel
“I remember looking around me and thinking... “We all shop... We talk
about it. We do it. We rejoice in it. We make bad decisions. Why hasn’t
anybody written about this?” Kinsella said in 2019 on “The Sunday Salon
with Alice-Azania Jarvis” podcast.
Kinsella created a story about Becky Bloomwood, a 20-something financial
journalist in debt from a shopping habit she can’t (or won’t) kick. The
novel contained hilarious back-and-forth correspondence with bill
collectors and banks, where she would make excuses for late payments.
Kinsella said those letters were one of the most fun bits to write.
There was also a love story with a handsome businessman whom Becky met
while on assignment. She went on to marry and have a mini-shopaholic
daughter in future books.
The humorous tone of “Confessions of a Shopaholic” was a change from her
earlier books, so she decided to submit it to her publishers under a pen
name. Her middle name was Sophie and Kinsella was her mother’s maiden
name.
[to top of second column]
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Author Sophie Kinsella shops in the children's section at Bergdorf
Goodman in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Bebeto
Matthews, File)
 The publishers said yes, and
“Shopaholic” was published in 2000 under her pseudonym. The novel,
blending humor with a cautionary tale about getting in over your
head with debt, was an immediate success.
Kinsella said Becky was a modern everywoman whose behavior was "what
you wouldn’t do yourself, but maybe you would if you were in
absolute extreme circumstances. And that’s what she finds herself in
all the time.”
Bloomwood's further adventures followed in books
including “Shopaholic Takes Manhattan,” “Shopaholic Ties the Knot”
and “Shopaholic & Sister.”
Along with “Bridget Jones” author Helen Fielding and others,
Kinsella’s work was often branded “chick lit” by the media. She told
the AP in 2004 she didn’t mind the label, interpreting it as
signaling a book that is "fun, entertaining and might just have a
happy ending.”
“Just because you are interested in frivolous things doesn’t mean
that you can’t be bright and have great ideas and the rest of it,"
she said.
The first two “Shopaholic” books were adapted into the 2009 film
“Confessions of a Shopaholic,” starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.
Kinsella also wrote “The Undomestic Goddess”, “Remember Me?” and
“Twenties Girl.” A young adult novel, “Finding Audrey,” was released
in 2015, followed by the children’s book series “My Mummy Fairy and
Me.”
Her novel “Can You Keep a Secret?” was adapted into a 2019 film
starring Alexandra Daddario and Tyler Hoechlin. Her last novel was
“The Burnout,” released in 2023.
Illness and hope
In November 2022, after experiencing symptoms including memory loss,
headaches and balance troubles, Kinsella was diagnosed with
glioblastoma, for which there is no cure. She kept the news private
until April 2024. In an interview with TV personality Robin Roberts
aired a few months later, Kinsella said she was focused on living in
the moment.
“I’ve already lasted more than the average. That’s how we get
through. We hope,” she said.
After her diagnosis, she wrote a novella, “What Does It Feel Like,”
about a woman with five children who has brain cancer.
“I thought people might be curious to know what it’s like to go
through this,” Kinsella told Roberts. “I hope it’s full of optimism
and love most of all.”
Araminta Whitley and Marina de Pass, Kinsella’s agents at The Soho
Agency, said the writer “had a rare gift for creating emotionally
resonant protagonists and stories that spoke to, and entertained,
readers wherever they were in the world and whatever challenges they
faced.”
Bill Scott-Kerr, her publisher at Transworld, said Kinsella leaves
behind “a unique voice, an unquenchable spirit, a goodness of intent
and a body of work that will continue to inspire us to reach higher
and be better, just like so many of her characters.”
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Rancilio reported from Detroit.
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