Sophie Kinsella, author of the ‘Shopaholic’ novels, passes away at 55

Sophie Kinsella, the author whose Shopaholic novels sold more than 50 million copies worldwide, died on 10 December 2025 at 55, following a diagnosis of glioblastoma in 2022, according to family statements and multiple media reports.

Writing under a pen name, Sophie created Becky Bloomwood, a financial journalist whose compulsive spending and emotional misfires anchored one of the most commercially successful franchises in contemporary publishing. First released in 2000, the books followed Becky through work, debt, romance and reinvention, striking a chord with readers at the turn of the millennium.

Before becoming a novelist, Sophie – born Madeleine Sophie Wickham – worked as a financial journalist, a biographical overlap often noted in profiles of her work. It lent the series a particular authority. Becky’s money troubles were exaggerated for comedy, but they were also recognisable, arriving at a moment when consumer optimism was still largely unquestioned, long before financial anxiety became a defining feature of adulthood.

The books were frequently grouped under the “chick lit” label, a classification Sophie publicly defended. As The Guardian reported in a 2012 interview, she rejected the idea that writing messy, funny women diminished their intelligence, arguing instead for characters who were capable and flawed at the same time.

Sophie’s work has aged in unexpected ways. What once read as escapism now resembles an early portrait of millennial unease – women navigating careers, consumption and self-worth without much institutional guidance. Becky’s financial chaos, once played for slapstick, feels less fanciful in a world shaped by recessions, burnout and precarious work.

According to Variety, Sophie’s books sold in more than 60 countries and were adapted into films including Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), starring Isla Fisher. In 2024, she published What Does It Feel Like?, a slim, semi-autobiographical novel reflecting on illness, memory and mortality.

Sophie is survived by her husband, Henry Wickham, and their five children. Her family said she died peacefully, with her final days filled with warmth and music.