Mindy Kaling

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Mindy Kaling
Kaling smiling
Kaling in 2008
Born Vera Mindy Chokalingam
(1979-06-24) June 24, 1979 (age 33)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Ethnicity Indian American
Occupation Actress, comedian, writer, producer, director
Years active 2004–present

Mindy Kaling (born Vera Mindy Chokalingam on June 24, 1979) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer who portrayed Kelly Kapoor on the NBC sitcom The Office and created and currently stars in the Fox sitcom The Mindy Project. She is also a co-executive producer, director and writer of several of the show's episodes; she also wrote, executive produced and directed various episodes of The Office.[1]

Contents

Early life [edit]

Kaling was born Vera Mindy Chokalingam[2] on June 24, 1979 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to a Tamil father and a Bengali mother from India.[3] Her father, Avu, is an architect, and her mother, Swati Roysircar, was a gynecologist.[4][5]

She has been referred to 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 United States 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]

Kaling graduated from Buckingham Browne & Nichols, a private school in Cambridge, Massachusetts 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", creator of the comic strip "Badly Drawn Girl" in The Dartmouth (the college's daily newspaper), and a writer for the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern (the college's humor magazine). Kaling graduated in 2001.[7][8][9]

Career [edit]

In 2003, she portrayed Ben Affleck in a play called Matt & Ben, which she also co-wrote with her best friend from college Brenda Withers. The play was named one of Time magazine's "Top Ten Theatrical Events of The Year". Kaling's TV appearances include a 2005 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, playing Richard Lewis's assistant.[10] Kaling is also featured on the CD Comedy Death-Ray and wrote for one episode of Saturday Night Live in April 2006.[citation needed]

After her film debut in The 40-Year-Old Virgin with Steve Carell, Kaling 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 National Air and Space Museum tour guide and voiced Taffyta Muttonfudge in Disney's animated comedy film, Wreck-It Ralph. In 2011 she played the role of Shira, a doctor who is a roommate and colleague of the main character Emma (played by Natalie Portman) in No Strings Attached. Kaling also made an appearance as Vanetha in the 2012 romantic comedy film The Five-Year Engagement.

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.[11] She is the author of the comic memoir Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns).[12] The book is a collection of essays about her early life and career, intertwined with short observational essays about her friends, family, and relationships. In 2012, Kaling pitched a comedy to Fox called The Mindy Project; which was written by her. The initial pilot featured her as the lead actress, while she also contributed as a producer.[13] Fox began airing the series Tuesdays at 9:30 Eastern Time starting 2012.[14]

The Office [edit]

Kaling first joined The Office as a writer at age 24 as the only woman on a staff of eight,[12] and then took on the role of character Kelly Kapoor. She has written at least 22 episodes,[12] 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".[15] After the "Diwali" episode, Kaling appeared with Daniels on NPR's Fresh Air.[16]

Most recently, Kaling directed The Office webisodes The 3rd Floor.[citation needed] 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.[17] Her NBC contract includes a development deal for a new show (eventually titled "The Mindy Project"), in which she appears as an actor and contributes as a writer.[12]

Episodes written [edit]

  1. "Hot Girl" (April 26, 2005) – Season 1
  2. "The Dundies" (September 20, 2005) – Season 2
  3. "The Injury" (January 12, 2006) – Season 2
  4. "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" (March 16, 2006) – Season 2
  5. "Diwali" (November 2, 2006) – Season 3
  6. "Ben Franklin" (February 1, 2007) – Season 3
  7. "Branch Wars" (November 1, 2007) – Season 4
  8. "Night Out" (April 24, 2008) – Season 4
  9. "Frame Toby" (November 20, 2008) – Season 5
  10. "Lecture Circuit: Part 1" (February 5, 2009) – Season 5
  11. "Lecture Circuit: Part 2" (February 12, 2009) – Season 5
  12. "Golden Ticket" (March 12, 2009) – Season 5
  13. "Niagara" co-written with Greg Daniels (October 8, 2009) – Season 6
  14. "Secret Santa" (December 10, 2009) – Season 6
  15. "The Manager and the Salesman" (February 11, 2010) – Season 6
  16. "Secretary's Day" (April 22, 2010) – Season 6
  17. "The Sting" (October 21, 2010) – Season 7
  18. "Classy Christmas" (December 9, 2010) – Season 7
  19. "Michael's Last Dundies" (April 21, 2011) – Season 7
  20. "Christmas Wishes" (December 9, 2011) – Season 8
  21. "Test the Store" (March 9, 2012) – Season 8

Episodes directed [edit]

  1. "Body Language" (April 29, 2010) – Season 6
  2. "Michael's Last Dundies" (April 21, 2011) – Season 7

Filmography [edit]

Films [edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2005 The 40 Year Old Virgin Amy Film debut
2006 Unaccompanied Minors Restaurant Hostess
2007 License to Wed Shelly
2009 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Docent
2010 Despicable Me Tourist Mom Voice only
2011 No Strings Attached Shira
2012 The Five-Year Engagement Vaneetha
2012 Wreck-It Ralph Taffyta Muttonfudge Voice only
2013 This Is the End Herself Post-production

TV Shows [edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Curb Your Enthusiasm Richard Lewis's Assistant Episode: "Lewis Needs a Kidney"
2005–2013 The Office Kelly Kapoor Main Role (Seasons 1–8) / Special Guest Star (Season 9); 161 episodes
2008 Global Warming Madhar
2008 House Poor Mindy
2008 The Office: The Outburst Kelly Kapoor Webseries
2009 The Office: Blackmail
2009 The Office: Subtle Sexuality
2010 The Office: The 3rd Floor
2011 The Office: The Girl Next Door
2012–present The Mindy Project Mindy Lahiri Lead Role

Awards and nominations [edit]

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[18] Yes
Writers Guild of America Awards Comedy Series Yes
2007 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series[19] Yes
Writers Guild of America Awards Episodic Comedy - for episode Local Ad No
Comedy Series No
Asian Excellence Awards Supporting Television Actress Yes
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
2010 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, "Niagara" No
2012 Writers Guild of America Awards New Series No The Mindy Project

References [edit]

  1. ^ Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), Mindy Kaling, Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (November 1, 2011)
  2. ^ Ulaby, Neda (2009-02-04). "On TV, Immigrants' Kids Mine Cultural Convergence". Morning Edition. NPR. Retrieved February 25, 2013. 
  3. ^ Kaling responds to reader's questions on Jezebel Zap2it, retrieved February 5, 2008
  4. ^ "MIndy Kaling". NNDB/Soylent Communications. Retrieved 29 September 2011. 
  5. ^ Kaling, Mindy. "Mindy Kaling: "Flick Chicks": The New Yorker". Conde Nast Digital. Retrieved 29 September 2011. 
  6. ^ a b Soroff, Jonathan. "the office_us:Mindy Kaling interview in Improper Bostonian". Interview. Live Journal, Inc. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
  7. ^ "List of Graduates". The Dartmouth. 2001-06-10. Retrieved February 25, 2013. 
  8. ^ Kofke-Egger, Heather. March 5, 1999. Chokalingham '01: comedy is a way of life, TheDartmouth.com
  9. ^ Swiss, Zach. May 23, 2006. Kaling '01 embarks on acting, writing career for 'The Office', TheDartmouth.com
  10. ^ "Curb Your Enthusiasm" Lewis Needs a Kidney (2005)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 29 September 2011. 
  11. ^ Blog at her website
  12. ^ a b c d Sittenfeld, Curtis (25 September 2011). "A Long Day at ‘The Office’ With Mindy Kaling". The New York Times Sunday Magazine. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
  13. ^ "Fox picks up Mindy Kaling pilot". Asia Pacific Arts. 02/01/2012. 
  14. ^ http://www.fox.com/the-mindy-project/
  15. ^ The A.V. Club, retrieved February 5, 2008
  16. ^ Gross, Terry (November 2, 2006). "Writing 'The Office'". Fresh Air. Retrieved December 1, 2008. 
  17. ^ Ausiello, Michael. "Scoop: Mindy Kaling Gets Major Office Promotion — But There's a Twist!". Blog. TVLine Media, LLC. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
  18. ^ Screen Actors Guild Honors Outstanding Film and Television Performances..., a January 2007 press release from the SAG Awards website
  19. ^ /screen_actors_guild_honors_its.php 'Sopranos,' 'The Office' Win SAG Ensemble Awards, a January 2008 TVWeek article

External links [edit]

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