'Shopaholic' Author Sophie Kinsella Dies – Family Shares a Statement

"We can't imagine what life will be like without her radiance and love of life," her family wrote in announcing the loss of one of Britain's most cherished authors.

"Shopaholic" author Sophie Kinsella has died.

The family's tribute now sets the tone for a deeply personal reflection on Sophie's resilience, her joy in life, and the illness she faced with extraordinary strength.

What Sophie's Family Said About Her Illness

"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 statement read.

"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 […] She will be missed so much our hearts are breaking💔💔💔[sic]," the family wrote.

Sophie's Health Battle

Before her death, Kinsella herself revealed in February 2024 that she had been privately battling glioblastoma since 2022, telling fans in a post on Instagram that she waited to speak publicly so her children could "hear and process the news in privacy."

"At the end of 2022 I was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of aggressive brain cancer," Sophie wrote. "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."

"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 added, expressing gratitude for her readers' support and sending "love and best wishes" to others facing cancer.

In a later interview with BBC Woman's Hour, Sophie described the early months after her diagnosis as disorienting and emotionally intense.

She said, "It was the most surreal and powerful and kind of extraordinary experience that had ever happened to me in my life. I would wake up every day, and I'd forget. I'd forget who the nurses were, I would forget why I'm in the hospital, and I had been told that I had cancer, and then I would forget, and my husband had to tell me again."

"Having now been through the diagnosis and the horror of learning what was happening to me, I have really realized what is important to me, what is solid and what doesn't matter anymore," she added.

She added that popular narratives about "seizing life" after illness didn't reflect her reality, saying, "The narrative is you're diagnosed with a terrible disease and you put on your Lycra, and climb Everest, or you go meet that movie star you'd always wanted to meet […] I'm afraid that narrative didn't speak to me."

Sophie's Support

During a candid interview with "Good Morning America," Sophie called her husband, Henry Wickham, a "hero" and praised his devotion during her treatment. She said:

"He has just been such a hero. 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, you didn't sign up for this.' Do you know what he said? He said, 'yes, I did, in sickness and in health.'"

Henry's devotion echoed throughout Sophie's earlier interviews as well. Speaking to Glamour, she said:

"My husband is such a teammate, both in parenting and in my writing. He completely gets my sense of humor and really enjoys talking plot. Maybe that's the reason we've been married so long."

In recent years, Henry even left his job as a school headmaster to work with her full-time, a role he had unofficially been fulfilling for years.

Who Sophie Was Before Fame

Born in London, Sophie grew up in Dorset after her parents took over a prep school there. She often said her storytelling instincts came from her mother's Irish heritage, and Kinsella, her famous pen name, was her mother's maiden name.

Her childhood was very bookish, filled with music, creativity, and free play. "Hardly any telly and no phones," she said, crediting that unstructured time with nurturing her imagination.

Sophie went to Oxford to study music but switched to Politics, Philosophy and Economics after her first year. After graduating, she built a career in financial journalism before publishing her first novel, "The Tennis Party," at age 24 under her real name, Madeleine Wickham.

Her first book under the Sophie Kinsella name, "The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic," was published in 2000, becoming an instant bestseller and launching the beloved Becky Bloomwood series. Hollywood adapted the first two books in 2009, propelling her to international stardom.

How Sophie Met the Love of Her Life

Sophie and Henry met on her first night at Oxford. "I went to a concert where he was singing Randy Newman's Short People and, when I heard him, I fell for him even though he dedicated the song to another woman in the audience. I love a man with a nice voice!" she told Woman & Home.

They married shortly after university — she was just 21 — and soon began building a life rich with family and creativity. She and Henry started having kids relatively young compared to their peers, something she often noted with humor and affection.

Who Survives the Bestselling Writer

In addition to her husband, Sophie is survived by the couple's five children. In an interview with The Independent, she shared that she had "five children, four boys and a girl," noting that the eldest was in university while the youngest was six.

"'They are spread out over many years. I don't literally have five toddlers. I couldn't cope with that,'" she said. "'We took our time.'" Her eldest son, Freddy Wickham, is a musician and music teacher who trained at Oxford.

Their second son, Hugo Wickham, currently works as a data scientist, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The couple's third son is currently pursuing a career in a quantitative field at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Their fourth son, Rex William Townley Wickham, was welcomed into the family in 2010. At the time, the author announced it on her official website.

Their youngest and only daughter, Sybella Wickham, often appeared in Sophie's warm social-media posts, which captured their close bond.

In one of those posts, Sophie and her daughter stood together. Sophie held the little girl's hand as she and Sybella shared a warm look.

While she was alive, Sophie often reflected on the realities of managing both motherhood and a demanding writing career, describing it as a continuous effort to keep multiple responsibilities in motion. She approached her work with clear structure, treating writing as a full-time commitment rather than something squeezed into spare moments.

Her days were typically organized around her children's schedules, focusing on writing while they were at school, shifting into parenthood duties in the afternoons, and sometimes returning to her desk once the household had settled for the evening.

Working from home made this balance more practical, and she frequently credited Henry's active involvement with the children as a crucial part of making their family life function smoothly.

Her passing marks the loss of one of Britain's most cherished authors, remembered not only for her wit but for her radiance, resilience, and love of life.