British author Sophie Kinsella, who penned popular chick lit novels including the "Shopaholic" series, has died aged 55 after being diagnosed with brain cancer, her family announced on Wednesday.
"We are heartbroken to announce the passing this morning of our beloved Sophie," her family said on Instagram.
Madeleine Sophie Wickham, who wrote under the pen name Sophie Kinsella, revealed last year that she was receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy for an aggressive form of brain cancer.
"Sophie counted herself truly blessed – to have such wonderful family and friends, and to have had the extraordinary success of her writing career," her family said.
Her books have sold some 50 million copies and have been translated into over 40 languages, according to a biography on her website.
The first two books from her "Shopaholic" series were adapted for the 2009 romantic comedy film "Confessions of a Shopaholic" starring Isla Fisher.
It tells the story of Becky Bloomwood, a financial journalist who is a serial shopper and hopeless when it comes to her own finances.
Kinsella wrote her first novel, "The Tennis Party," aged 24, when she was herself working as a financial journalist.
Her latest novels were "The Burnout" (2023) and "What Does it Feel Like?" (2024).
The latter is a semi-fictional account of her cancer journey, which made it onto several bestseller lists.
In an introduction to the book, Kinsella said she had "always processed my life through writing."
"Hiding behind my fictional characters, I have always turned my own life into a narrative. It is my version of therapy, maybe."
