Sophie Kinsella, best known for her bestselling “Confessions of a Shopaholic” book series, has died after a battle with brain cancer. She was 55.
On Wednesday, her family announced her death on Instagram.
“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,” the statement, which was posted on Kinsella’s official Instagram account, read.
“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.”
“She will be missed so much our hearts are breaking,” the post concluded.
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Kinsella first revealed her diagnosis in April 2024 with a lengthy Instagram post.
“To my dear readers & followers, I’ve wanted for a long time to share with you a health update and I’ve been waiting for the strength to do so,” she wrote. “At the end of 2022 I was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of aggressive 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 continued, “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.”
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“At the moment all is stable and I am feeling generally very well, though I get very tired,” she added, joking, “and my memory is even worse than it was before!”
During an appearance on “Good Morning America” in July 2024, the British author – whose real name is Madeleine Wickham – sat down with Robin Roberts to discuss the moments she realized “something really was wrong” with her body before discovering she had a brain tumor.
“The first symptoms that I had was… my legs. I was stumbling, I was tripping,” she said. “I started getting very severe headaches. I got very confused. But it was really when I started tipping over in my chair that we realized something really was wrong.”
After undergoing a brain scan at the hospital, Kinsella learned she had a grade 4 glioblastoma brain tumor. She underwent surgery 10 days later.
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“It was an eight-hour operation,” she said. “They found the tumor, and they got it all out as much as they could see…. You have to take your triumphs where you can. And the surgery was a triumph.”
Kinsella said she “couldn’t do anything” during her recovery.
“I just have these gaps in my memory, and it’s never really got[ten] back to normal,” she admitted.
But her husband, Henry Wickham, continued to show up for her every day during her recovery.
“He has just been such a hero,” she said. “He stayed with me in the hospital the whole time. I once said to him, I got very teary at one stage and I said, ‘Oh my God, but you didn’t sign up for this.’ And do you know what he said? He said, ‘Yes, I did. In sickness and in health.’”
“Every morning, he brings me a cup of tea,” she added. “And he comes to me with a story of hope. I’ve already lasted more than the average. So, you know, that’s how we get through…. We just hope.”
Kinsella is survived by her husband and their five children.
