On June 24, 1979, Mindy Kaling was born in Cambridge, MA. Everyone got to first know, and love, her as Kelly Kapoor in “The Office.” She achieved an even wider fan base for creating, writing, producing, and starring in “The Mindy Project.” She currently stars as one of the eight female leads in “Ocean’s 8.” Known for her hilarious and clever observations, she recently grabbed the headlines for her commencement address at her alma mater, Dartmouth College. She shared many inspiring words of wisdom with the 2018 graduating class, including, “You have to have insane confidence in yourself, even if it’s not real.”
Kaling was born Vera Mindy Chokalingam to an architect father and OB/GYN mother. Although her parents were from India, they emigrated to the United States in 1979, just before Mindy was born. After graduating from a private high school in Cambridge, Kaling entered Dartmouth College in 1997. At the elite Ivy League school, she cultivated her talent as a writer, comedian and performer. She was a member of the improv comedy troupe, sang in an acapella troupe, wrote for the comedy newspaper, and created a comic strip for the campus newspaper.
After college, Kaling moved to New York City and worked in various production assistant jobs. She also became a part of the stand-up comedy circuit. In August 2002, “Matt & Ben,” the play she co-wrote and starred in with her best friend, became an off-Broadway hit. TIME Magazine called the play about Ben Affleck and Matt Demon’s friendship, “One of the Top Ten Theatrical Events of 2002.”
Riding high off the success of her off-Broadway show, Kaling joined the writing team and the cast of “The Office,” in 2005. She was 24 years old and the only woman on the writing staff of eight. On screen, she played Kelly Kapoor, the chatty customer service representative at Dunder Mifflin. Thanks in part to Kaling’s writing and performance, “The Office” was nominated five consecutive times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.
In 2012, her series “The Mindy Project” premiered. She broke new ground as the first woman of color to create, executive produce and star in her own TV sitcom. In the show, she plays Dr. Mindy Lahiri, an OB/GYN who is a self-described “adult teenager.”
Kaling has recently starred in two major movie releases, “A Wrinkle in Time“ with Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon as well as “Ocean’s 8” with an all-female cast, including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and Anne Hathaway.
Happy 39th Birthday to Mindy Kaling! Thank you for being a pioneer in the entertainment world and for inspiring us to go for our dreams.