“I feel important. It can only go downhill from here,” Mindy Kaling jokes before her appearance at last month’s Newport Beach TV Festival to receive its Artist of Distinction Award.
She is a powerhouse actor, writer and producer behind shows including “Never Have I Ever,” “The Sex Lives of College Girls” and “Running Point.”
So, how did Kaling begin her day? “Eating french fries in my hotel room watching boats go by. Sometimes you just need that,” says the Tony Award winner and six-time Emmy Award nominee.
Fans call her work “The Mindy Comedy Universe.” “The slightly less famous MCU,” she quips.
At 47, Kaling has come into her own — and deserves the perks, including fries. “I’m approaching aging without much dread,” says the busy mom to Katherine, 8, Spencer, 5, and Anne, 2. “As I get older, it’s more about the gratitude. I’m not someone who says, ‘I have to do this.’ It’s more, ‘I get to do this.’ If you reframe it that way, it changes your day.”
Her get-to-do list includes a publishing venture with Amazon called Mindy’s Book Studio. Her goal is to boost female voices. “I really like ambitious women, underestimated women and women with secrets,” she says of her book picks.
There is also her TV work, including the new Hulu series “Not Suitable for Work,” which is being compared to “Friends.” All episodes are available now. The series follows five 20-somethings navigating life, love, career and friendship in Manhattan’s tony Murray Hill neighborhood.
Kaling is also in preproduction on Season 3 of the Kate Hudson sports comedy “Running Point,” which she co-created, writes and executive produces. Season 2 dropped in late April.
With age has come an even greater jolt of creativity, Kaling says: “I have a lot of stories left in me.”
The L.A. resident shared her good life tips:
Good memories
A spin down memory lane inspired Kaling to create “Not Suitable for Work.” “When I look back at my time at ‘The Mindy Project,’ it was a blur because I would wake up so early, get into hair and makeup at 6 in the morning and leave at 10 p.m.,” she says. “But the time in my life from 21 to 24, I remember incredibly vividly. I feel enough time has passed where I could write about that time and smile.”
Vera from Boston
Kaling was born Vera Mindy Chokalingam and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “I feel very Boston-y when I think about myself,” she says. “I love living in California, but my soul is a New England/Boston soul.” But Vera from Boston? “My uncle loved ‘Mork & Mindy,’ ” she shares. “When we moved to the U.S., my parents wanted a cute little American nickname for me, so Mindy stuck. Plus, my uncle could honor his show. I used to use Vera to check into hotels, but it made me sound about 60,000 years old.”
Love of laughter
“My mother was an obstetrician in the Boston area, and my dad is an architect. No one in my family was remotely involved in the arts. I wasn’t even allowed to watch TV all that much,” Kaling says. “The family did love comedy. We’d go on these long drives and listen to comics. When I got older, it was “Seinfeld” and “SCTV.” As a family, we’d watch together and laugh. I was a pretty quiet girl when I was younger, but laughing was a way to just let it all out.”
Writing lessons
Growing up, Kaling didn’t have a nanny or a babysitter after school, but she found something else to keep her occupied. “I’d get dropped off at my mom’s office after school,” she says. “She had a phlebotomy room where they would draw blood. I would hang out in there alone because there was a typewriter in there. So, I’d read, and when I’d get bored, I started to write one-page plays. If a patient had to give blood, I’d have to take a break and step outside. Between patients, I’d read what I wrote to my mother. Sometimes, she would be amused. She didn’t give it up for stuff she didn’t legit thing was funny.”
Unleashing ‘Jaws’
“My plan was to go to New York after graduation and try to write for ‘Saturday Night Live.’ I thought, ‘If it doesn’t work out then maybe I’ll teach Latin at a public high school,” Kaling says.
She credits her college choice for providing the perfect niche to make a name for herself as an actor and writer. “The best thing about going to Dartmouth is it isn’t NYU or Yale, where there are so many artsy people,” she explains. “At Dartmouth, I was in the improv group, which made me fairly unusual. Also, everyone turned out for the student productions. All of a sudden, I was one of the funny people there. I was ‘Jaws’ in the community swimming pool. It’s not a testament to my talent, but how little was going on at the time.”
Stronger and leaner
Kaling has shed a significant amount of weight thanks to a workout routine that includes strength training, she says. She also fits in cardio by walking, including 3 to 5 miles in the mornings. It also helps her deal with stress. “The blood flow makes it better,” Kaling says.
Healthy change
The internet was a little too interested in her weight-loss journey, but Kaling tried to take it in stride. “The good thing is I’m not known for this kind of thing,” she says. “I was never Mindy ‘The Body’ Kaling.” She decided to lose weight “to live at least 20 more years” for her three children, Kaling says. “I truly feel so healthy now,” she adds. “I feel confident about my body, which is not something I’ve been able to say for my whole life. I feel great.”
