From Sketches to Sitcoms: The Best of Mindy Kaling’s Career

Vera Mindy Chokalingam was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to a Tamil architect father and a Bengali OB-GYN mother.

As a child, Kaling loved watching sketch comedies like 'In Living Color' and 'Saturday Night Live'. She went to Dartmouth College and graduated in 2001 with a degree in theatre. While there, she joined the all-female a cappella group 'Rockapellas' and the improv troupe 'Dog Day Players'. She also drew a popular comic called 'Badly Drawn Girl for the university newspaper.

Kaling moved to Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, with her two best friends from Dartmouth to chase a career in comedy. It wasn’t easy—she worked as a babysitter for a wealthy family in Brooklyn Heights, got rejected from the NBC Page Program, and eventually found a full-time job as a production assistant on 'Crossing Over' with John Edward, a show where Edward gave psychic readings to the audience.

Following graduation, Kaling shared an apartment in Brooklyn with her college friend Brenda Withers. Kaling and Withers turned a running joke into an infotainment satire, 'Matt & Ben', in which the women portrayed the actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The play was entered in 2002 into the New York International Fringe Festival, where it took the award for best overall production. The comedy then had a successful two-year run on Off-Broadway, followed by a transfer to Los Angeles.

In 2004, writer and producer Greg Daniels recruited Kaling after seeing 'Matt & Ben', to write for the American adaptation of the British mockumentary-style comedy 'The Office'. Kaling also portrayed "Kelly Kapoor", one of the office's "most ethnic co-workers." She stayed with the show for its entire run from 2005 to 2013, serving as an executive producer from 2008 onward and directing several episodes.

Kaling later developed the innovative TV show 'The Mindy Project', which centered on the life of "Mindy Lahiri", an obstetrician-gynecologist, fixated on finding a romantic partner. The character "Mindy" is self-involved, impulsive, and prone to romantic delusions and has a great fondness for designer clothing.

The half-hour show premiered in 2012 and became known for its clever dialogue and singular take on popular culture. In addition to starring in the show, Kaling also wrote and served as executive producer.

Kaling showcased her acting in comedies like 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' (2005), 'License to Wed' (2007), and 'Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian' (2009).

She lent her voice to animated films such as 'Despicable Me' (2010), 'Wreck-It Ralph' (2012), and 'Inside Out' (2015). In 2018, she portrayed "Mrs. Who" in 'A Wrinkle in Time' and joined the female-led cast of 'Ocean’s 8'. Kaling wrote and starred in her first feature-length screenplay, 'Late Night' (2019), and voiced Velma in the animated series 'Velma' (2022), based on 'Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'

In addition to her work in film and television, Kaling wrote two autobiographical essay collections: Is 'Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?' (and Other Concerns) (2011) and 'Why Not Me?' (2015). She also maintained an active presence on Twitter, where she connected with millions of followers, and on her popular Instagram account.