| Mindy Kaling | |
|---|---|
Mindy Kaling, 2008 |
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| Born | Vera Mindy Chokalingam June 24, 1979 Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States |
| Occupation | Actress, comedian, writer, producer |
| Years active | 2004–present |
Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979), better known as Mindy Kaling, is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer who plays Kelly Kapoor on the NBC sitcom The Office. Kaling is also a co-executive producer and writer of several of the show's episodes.
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Kaling was born Vera Chokalingam[1][2] in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to a Tamil father and and Bengali mother from India.[3] Her father, Avu, is an architect and her mother, Swati, is an obstetrician/gynecologist.[4][5]
She explains that she has been known as Mindy ever since her mother was pregnant with her when her parents were living in Nigeria. They were already planning to move to the U.S. and wanted a "cute American name" for their daughter, and liked the name Mindy from the TV show Mork & Mindy. The name Vera is the name of the "incarnation of a Hindu goddess."[6]
She graduated from Buckingham Browne & Nichols, a private school in Cambridge in 1997. The following year, she entered Dartmouth College, where she was a member of the improvisational comedy troupe "The Dog Day Players" and the a cappella group "The Rockapellas", the creator of the comic strip "Badly Drawn Girl" in The Dartmouth (the college's daily newspaper), as well as writing for the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern (the college's humor magazine). She graduated in 2001.[7] In 2003, she portrayed Ben Affleck in a play titled "Matt & Ben", which she also co-wrote with Brenda Withers. The play was named one of Time magazine's "Top Ten Theatrical Events of The Year".
Kaling's past TV appearances include a 2005 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, playing Richard Lewis's assistant. [8] Kaling is also featured on the CD Comedy Death-Ray and wrote for one episode of Saturday Night Live in April 2006.
Kaling's first film role was in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which starred Steve Carell. She also made an appearance in the film Unaccompanied Minors as a waitress. In 2007, she held a small part in License to Wed starring fellow The Office actors John Krasinski, Angela Kinsey and Brian Baumgartner. Recently, Kaling was in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian as a Smithsonian Museum of Air and Space tour guide. She also voiced the character of "Tourist Mom" in the animated comedy Despicable Me. In 2011, she played the role of Shira, a doctor who is a flatmate and colleague of the main character Emma (played by Natalie Portman) in No Strings Attached.
Prior to acting, one of her "worst job" experiences was as a production assistant on the Crossing Over With John Edward psychic show.[6]
Kaling used to maintain a blog called “Things I’ve Bought That I Love,", which reemerged on her website on September 29, 2011.[9] She is the author of the comic memoir Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns).[10] The book is a collection of essays about her early life and career, intertwined with short observational essays about her friends, family, and relationships.
Kaling first joined The Office as a writer when she was 24, as the only woman on a staff of eight,[10] and then took on the role of character Kelly Kapoor. She has written at least 22 episodes,[10] including "Niagara", for which she was co-nominated for an Emmy with Greg Daniels. Kaling also wrote and directed the webisodes "Subtle Sexuality" in 2009. In a 2007 interview with The A.V. Club, Kaling stated that the Kelly character is "an exaggerated version of what I think the upper-level writers believe my personality is."[11] After the "Diwali" episode, Kaling appeared with Daniels on NPR's Fresh Air.[12]
Most recently, Kaling directed The Office webisodes titled The 3rd Floor. She also directed the season 6 episode titled "Body Language", which marked her television directorial debut.
Kaling's contract was set to expire at the end of Season 7. On September 15, 2011, she signed a new contract to stay with the show for Season 8 and was promoted to full Executive Producer status.[13] Her current NBC contract includes a development deal for a new show for which she will both write and act.[10]
| Year | Group | Award | Won | Film/Television series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Writers Guild of America Awards | New Series | No | The Office |
| Comedy Series | No | |||
| 2006 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series[14] | Yes | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Comedy Series | Yes | ||
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series[15] | Yes | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Episodic Comedy - for episode Local Ad | No | ||
| Comedy Series | No | |||
| 2008 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | No | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Comedy Series | No | ||
| 2009 | Prism Awards | Performance in a Comedy Series | No |