Vera Mindy Chokalingam, (born June 24, 1979) known professionally as Mindy Kaling, is an American actress, author, comedian, writer and producer who stars as Kelly Kapoor on the NBC sitcom The Office. Kaling is also a co-executive producer and writer of 22 of the Emmy Award-winning show's episodes.
Career[]
Kaling was last seen on the big screen opposite Ben Stiller and Amy Adams in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. She made her film debut as the object of Paul Rudd's unwanted affections in the Judd Apatow directed comedy "The 40-Year Old Virgin." She followed up by voicing the character of "Tourist Mom" in the blockbuster animated comedy Despicable Me. 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.
In Fall of 2011, Kaling will release her first book, titled The Contents of My Purse, which will be published by Random House's Crown imprint. The book will be a collection of comic essays detailing moments from a woman's life, including everything from relationships to fashion. Crown describes Kaling's collection as a mix between her own blog "Things I Bought That I Love" and Nora Ephron's popular Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Per Kaling signing her blog posts "Mindy Ephron" and listing the writer-director's You've Got Mail as one of her favorite films, it is evident that Kaling is a big fan of Nora Ephron. Kaling took to her Twitter account to describe the book in her own words: “My book will be essays and personal anecdotes, pictures, fashion, and general opinionated bossiness about how women should live” and “My book will be about being over 30 and settling. ‘Find the Right in Mr. Wrong.’”
Kaling is currently scribing The Low Self Esteem of of Lizzie Gillespie with fellow The Office writer Brent Forrester. Now Variety reports that co-writers Forrester and Kaling are jumping to feature films with The Low Self Esteem of of Lizzie Gillespie - the story of a woman whose lack of self-worth has limited her choice in men to losers until her life takes an unexpected turn when she is pursued by the "hottest guy" ever. Along with Mandate Pictures, producing the film will be fellow actor John Malkovich and his Mr. Mudd production label as well as the team behind 2007's indie hit Juno. Nathan Kahane from Mandate is a big proponent of Kaling and Forrester's writing talents as "the most comically endowed writers out there."
On the side, Kaling writes about shopping in a blog called "Things I Bought That I Love". It recently was featured in Esquire under Women We Love: The Endorsements -- Things We Are Riveted By, Intrigued With, And Incapable of Not Adoring. Kaling has expanded her brand of quirky comedy to the microblogging site, where she now boasts more than 250,000 followers.
What all these projects share is a comedy that majors in romantic entanglements and minors in slapstick. NY Magazine states "Her voice is impassioned, relatable (which might account for the 1.2 million people who follow her on Twitter), and oddly comforting to anyone who has felt like they don’t entirely belong.
The Office[]
"Well, all the guys want to have sex with me all the time. Every day I come to work it's nonstop sexual harassment. They had to have some people from General Electric come down and talk to us about it. There`s a lawsuit that`s about to happen. But other than that, it`s been great." --- Mindy Kaling On being one of only 2 female writers on a staff of 14 for "The Office" (2005).[1] Kaling can be seen on The Office where she stars as Kelly Kapoor. Mindy Kaling's portrayal of airhead Kelly Kapoor on the hit series The Office is so good, it's easy to forget that in real life, her considerable brain power has gone into producing and writing the show as well. Kaling has written over 18 episodes including "Niagara", which scored her an Emmy nod. Kaling has also ventured into directing and wrote and directed the hugely popular webisode and music video "Subtle Sexuality" in 2009. In early 2004, she was hired as a writer and performer for the American version of The Office. 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."[2] After the "Diwali" episode, Kaling appeared with Daniels on NPR's Fresh Air.[3]
The Office has been nominated and won multiple awards including: Writers Guild of America Awards, Television Critics Association Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Golden Globe Awards and Emmy Awards. Kaling was singled out when she was nominated for a 2008 Image Award in the "Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series" category for The Office episode "Branch Wars".
“Mindy has long been considered the best writer on The Office, and every actor on the show thinks she writes for them best. There is the extra little ‘smile’ that infuses her scripts, which is hard to quantify. My guess is that it stems from a real loving sense of the superspecific inner life of every character. Characters aren't joke machines to her, or types to satirize. As a person, she's incredibly sentimental, more than anyone I’ve met, but she's also incredibly sharp. She's unabashedly both. That allows her to express real emotions without shyness, but also without clichés.” B.J. Novak
Most recently, Kaling has directed The Office webisodes of The 3rd Floor. When Ryan (B.J. Novak) decides his next great endeavor is a scary slasher movie, Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling), Erin (Ellie Kemper), Kevin (Brian Baumgartner), Meredith (Kate Flannery), Creed (Creed Bratton), and Gabe (Zach Woods) all pitch in.
Filmography[]
Acting[]
Films | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Other Notes |
2005 | The 40 Year Old Virgin | Amy | |
Curb Your Enthusiasm | Richard Lewis' Assistant | (1 episode) | |
The Office | Kelly Kapoor | (97 episodes) (2005–2013) | |
2006 | Unaccompanied Minors | Restaurant Hostess | |
2007 | Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Herself | (1 episode) |
License to Wed | Shelly | ||
2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards | Herself | (TV) | |
Take Home Handyman | Herself | (1 episode) | |
2008 | House Poor | Mindy | (TV series) |
Late Show with David Letterman | Herself | (1 episode) | |
The Outburst | Kelly Kapoor | (1 of 4 episodes) | |
2009 | The Office: Blackmail | Kelly Kapoor | (unknown episodes) |
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon | Herself | 1 episode | |
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson | Herself | (3 episodes) | |
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | Docent | ||
Saturday Night Live | Herself | (1 episode) | |
2010 | Despicable Me | (voice) Tourist Mom | |
Unaffiliated | TBA | (rumored) | |
2012 | Wreck-It Ralph | (voice) Taffyta Muttonfudge | |
2015 | Inside Out | (voice) Disgust |
edit Producer[]
Films | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Other Notes |
2006 | Mindy and Brenda | (TV) | |
2009 | The Office | (co-executive from 2008–2009) | (executive producer for 1 episode in 2009) |
Writer[]
Films | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Other Notes |
2006 | Mindy and Brenda | None | (TV series) |
Saturday Night Live | None | (1 episode) | |
2008 | House Poor | None | (TV series) |
2009 | The Office | Kelly Kapoor | (18 episodes) |
Soundtrack[]
Films | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Other Notes |
2009 | The Office | Kelly Kapoor | (4 episodes) |
Episodes of The Office written by Kaling[]
# | Year | Season | Episode | Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2005 | 1 | Hot Girl | Corporate informs Michael that an incentive program has been set up where the top Dunder Mifflin sales representative will be rewarded with a prize of up to $1000. As Michael decides on choosing that prize, a pretty young purse saleswoman sets up shop in the conference room, which catches every male's eye. |
2 | 2005 | 2 | The Dundies | Michael holds his annual office award ceremony, The Dundies, much to the displeasure of the rest of the office. |
3 | 2006 | 2 | The Injury | Michael accidentally burns his foot on a grill, but insists on coming to work anyway. When none of his employees, except for Dwight, help him, Michael feels under-appreciated and starts a disability seminar. Meanwhile, Dwight starts acting different to everyone. |
4 | 2006 | 2 | Take Your Daughter to Work Day | Michael is frustrated that Take Your Daughter to Work Day will force him to tone down his office antics, while Pam sets out to get at least one of the four children in the office to like her. Michael ends up showing a tape of a T.V. show he was on as a kid, only to find out that his life is nothing like he dreamed it would be as a child. |
5 | 2006 | 3 | Diwali | Kelly invites the entire staff to a celebration of Diwali, a Hindu festival that night. Michael brings Carol and publicly proposes to her, only to get rejected while Ryan fails to make a favourable impression on Kelly's parents. In Stamford, Andy, Karen and Jim work late to do extra paperwork, which Andy turns into a night of drinking. |
6 | 2007 | 3 | Ben Franklin | The employees from the office prepare for Phyllis' wedding. Michael plans a bachelor party and instructs Dwight to hire a stripper for the men and delegates Jim to hire one for the women. While Dwight hires a stripper, Jim ends up hiring a Ben Franklin impersonator instead. |
7 | 2007 | 4 | Branch Wars | Karen tries to "poach" Stanley from Dunder Mifflin Scranton, to go work in the Utica branch. In revenge, Michael and Dwight trick Jim into travelling to the company's Utica branch, where the group attempts to prank Karen. Back at the office, Pam, Oscar, and Toby try to hold an exclusive club meeting, with disastrous results. |
8 | 2008 | 4 | Night Out | Michael and Dwight travel to New York City to party with Ryan. Meanwhile, the remaining employees are going to be forced to work on a Saturday. Instead, Jim suggests they work late on Friday night, so they do not have to come in the next day. Once the employees are finished working, they find that they are locked in. |
9 | 2008 | 5 | Frame Toby | Michael is upset when he learns that Toby is back as their HR representative, as such, he tries to get Toby fired. Meanwhile, Pam writes an anonymous memo about cleanliness, while Jim buys his parents' house for him and Pam to live in. |
10 | 2009 | 5 | Lecture Circuit Part 1 | Michael and Pam start a lecture circuit to other branches in order to pass on Michael's "expertise". Back in Scranton, Dwight and Jim take over the party-planning committee, but accidentally forget Kelly's birthday. |
11 | 2009 | 5 | Lecture Circuit Part 2 | Michael and Pam continue their lectures and head to the Nashua branch, so Michael can see Holly again. Jim and Dwight attempt to create the best party ever for Kelly. |
12 | 2009 | 5 | Golden Ticket | Michael creates a new marketing idea that involves putting five golden tickets into paper reams and promises a 10% discount for the customer. But when Dunder Mifflin's biggest customer finds all five, Michael makes Dwight take the blame. |
13 | 2009 | 6 | Niagara | The Office travels to Niagara Falls to celebrate Jim and Pam's wedding under strict orders not to mention Pam's pregnancy. Michael, Dwight, and Andy all want to hook up with guests at the wedding. |
14 | 2009 | 6 | Secret Santa | Michael is outraged when Jim gives Phyllis Santa privileges. Jim and Dwight try to get the office in the Christmas spirit despite uncertainty in Dunder-Mifflin's future. Oscar has a secret crush. |
16 | 2010 | 6 | Manager and Salesman | The office is eager to welcome Sabre CEO Jo Bennett (Kathy Bates) to Scranton, and are dazzled by her Southern ways. But when Jo finds out there are two branch managers, she says either Michael or Jim must go back to being a salesman. Meanwhile, Andy's Valentine's Day's plan backfires. |
17 | 2010 | 6 | Secretary's Day | Andy wants to make Erin's day special, so he asks Michael to take her out to lunch with Michael accidentally spilling the beans about Andy and Angela's engagement. Oscar makes a video of The Cookie Monster with Kevin's voice as The Cookie Monster and Kevin complains about the video to Gabe, who wants to earn respect from the employees. |
18 | 2010 | 7 | The Sting | When Danny (guest star Timothy Olyphant) steals a huge client from Dunder Mifflin, Michael, Dwight and Jim set up a sting to find out his sales secrets. Meanwhile, Andy starts a band with Kevin and Darryl after one of his friends from college has a successful music career. |
19 | 2010 | 7 | Classy Christmas | When Michael Scott finds out that Holly Flax is returning, he demands that Pam throw a "classy Christmas party." |
20 | 2011 | 7 | Michael's Last Dundies | Michael and Deangelo host Michael's Last Dundies ceremony. |
21 | 2011 | 8 | Christmas Wishes | Andy wants to make everyone's Christmas wishes come true. |
22 | 2012 | 8 | Test the Store | Dwight sets up a presentation for the Pyramid. Meanwhile, Andy was beaten by 5th grade girl. |
Awards and nominations[]
Year | Group | Award | Won | Film/Television series |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Writers Guild of America Awards | New Series | No | The Office |
Episodic Comedy - for episode Diversity Day | No | |||
Comedy Series | No | |||
2006 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series[4] | Yes | |
Writers Guild of America Awards | Comedy Series | Yes | ||
Emmy Awards | Outstanding Comedy Series | Yes | ||
2007 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series[5] | Yes | |
Emmy Awards | Outstanding Comedy Series | No | ||
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 | |
Emmy Awards | Outstanding Comedy Series | No | ||
Writers Guild of America Awards | Comedy Series | No | ||
2009 | Prism Awards | Performance in a Comedy Series | No |
References[]
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