Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 06:17, 30 July 2015

Rachel kaling
Kaling at PaleyFest 2013's panel for The Mindy Project
Born	Vera Mindy Chokalingam Error: Need valid birth date: year, month, day Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education	Buckingham Browne & Nichols
Alma mater	Dartmouth College
Occupation(s)	Actress, comedian, writer
Years active	2003–present
Comedy career
Medium	Television, film, books
Genres	satire, improvisational comedy, sketch comedy, stand-up comedy
Subject(s)	American culture, pop culture
Notable works and roles	The Office The Mindy Project Inside Out
Website	theconcernsofmindykaling.com

Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979), known professionally as Mindy Kaling, is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is the creator and star of the Fox sitcom The Mindy Project, and also serves as executive producer and writer for the show. She is also known for her work on the NBC sitcom The Office, where she portrayed the character Kelly Kapoor and served as executive producer, writer and director.

Early life

Kaling was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to a Tamil father, Avu Chokalingam, an architect, and a Bengali mother, Dr. Swati Chokalingam (née Roysircar), an obstetrician/gynecologist (OBGYN). Both of Kaling's parents are Hindus from India. They met while working at the same hospital in Nigeria. Kaling's mother was working as an OBGYN, and her father was overseeing the building of a wing of the hospital. The family emigrated in 1979, the same year Kaling was born. Kaling's mother died of pancreatic cancer in 2012. Kaling has an older brother, anti-affirmative action activist Vijay Jojo Chokalingam.

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 from Dartmouth in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in Playwriting. She was a Classics major for much of college, studying Latin, which she had not studied since 7th grade.

Career

While a 19-year-old sophomore at Dartmouth, Kaling was an intern on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Kaling said she was a terrible intern, "less of a 'make copies' intern and more of a 'stalk Conan' intern."

After college, Kaling moved to Brooklyn. Kaling said one of her "worst job" experiences was as a production assistant for three months on the Crossing Over With John Edward psychic show. She described it as "depressing". During this same time, Kaling did stand-up in New York City.

In August 2002, Kaling portrayed Ben Affleck in an off Broadway play called Matt & Ben, which she co-wrote with her best friend from college, Brenda Withers—who played Matt Damon. The play was named one of Time magazine's "Top Ten Theatrical Events of The Year," was "a surprise hit" at the 2002 New York International Fringe Festival. Initially, Withers and Kaling had, "for their own entertainment, mockingly pretend to be the best friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck; that pretending spawned “Matt & Ben”, the goofy play that reimagined how Damon and Affleck came to write the movie Good Will Hunting."

Kaling wrote a popular blog called "Things I’ve Bought That I Love", which reemerged on her website on September 29, 2011. The blog was written under the name Mindy Ephron, "a name Kaling chose because she was amused by the idea of her 20-something Indian-American self as a long-lost Ephron sister."

The Office

In 2004, when The Office producer Greg Daniels was working to adapt The Office from the BBC show of the same name, he hired Kaling as a writer-performer after reading a spec script she wrote. "She's very original ... If anything feels phony or lazy or passé, she’ll pounce on it."

When Kaling joined the The Office, she was 24 years old and was the only woman on a staff of eight. She took on the role of character Kelly Kapoor, debuting in the series’ second episode, "Diversity Day." She has written at least 22 episodes, including "Niagara", for which she was co-nominated for an Emmy with Greg Daniels. Kaling wrote and directed the webisode "Subtle Sexuality" in 2009.

In a 2007 interview with The A.V. Club, she stated that "Kelly" is "an exaggerated version of what I think the upper-level writers believe my personality is." After the "Diwali" episode, Kaling appeared with Daniels on NPR's Fresh Air.

Kaling directed The Office webisodes The 3rd Floor. She directed the season 6 episode titled "Body Language", which marked her television directorial debut. Her 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. Her Universal Television contract included a development deal for a new show (eventually titled The Mindy Project), in which she appears as an actor and contributes as a writer.

Kaling and her fellow writers and producers of The Office were nominated five consecutive times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. In 2010, she received a nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series with Greg Daniels for the episode, "Niagara".

The Mindy Project

In 2012, Kaling pitched a single-camera comedy to Fox called The Mindy Project, which was written and produced by Kaling. Fox began airing the series Tuesdays at 9:30 Eastern Time starting in 2012.

Kaling notes that she is sometimes described as a pioneer, as there are not yet very many Indian-American women on television.

The series was canceled by Fox in May 2015 but was later picked up by Hulu for a 26 episode fourth season.

Other work

Acting

Kaling's TV appearances include a 2005 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, playing Richard Lewis's assistant. She is featured on the CD Comedy Death-Ray and guest-wrote parts of an episode of Saturday Night Live in April 2006.

After her film debut in The 40-Year-Old Virgin with Steve Carell, Kaling appeared 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. Kaling was in the 2009 film 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 Five-Year Engagement (2012). Kaling also voiced Disgust in the 2015 Pixar animated film, Inside Out.

Writing

In 2011, Kaling published a memoir, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns). Her second book, Why Not Me?, will cover the many events that have happened in her life since 2011, and will be published in 2015.

Personal life

Kaling has said she has never been called Vera, her first name, but has been referred to as Mindy since her mother was pregnant with her while her parents were living in Nigeria. They were already planning to move to the United States and wanted, Kaling said, a "cute American name" for their daughter, and liked the name Mindy from the TV show Mork & Mindy. The name Vera is, according to Kaling, the name of the "incarnation of a Hindu goddess."

When Kaling started doing stand-up, the emcees could never pronounce her surname, Chokalingam, so they made fun of it. Eventually she changed it to Kaling. She stopped doing stand-up because it required a lot more time than she had. She toured solo as well as with Craig Robinson before he was on The Office.

Kaling has said that she never saw a family like hers on TV, which gave her a dual perspective she uses in her writing. The "everyone against me mentality" is what she thinks she learned as a child of immigrants. She loves reading books by Jhumpa Lahiri, even naming her Mindy Lahiri character after her.

Kaling considers herself Hindu. She lives in West Hollywood, California.

Filmography

Film

Television

The Office writing

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

The Office directing

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

Awards and nominations

In 2013, Entertainment Weekly identified Kaling as one of the "50 Coolest and Most Creative Entertainers" in Hollywood. In the same year, Kaling was recognized by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Works and publications

• Kaling, Mindy, and Brenda Withers. Matt & Ben: A New Play. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 2004; ISBN 978-1-585-67571-5
• Kaling, Mindy. Unbelievable Holiday Tales: Scripting a Fantasy of a Family, The New York Times, December 18, 2009.
• Kaling, Mindy. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and Other Concerns), New York: Crown Archetype, 2011; ISBN 978-0-307-88627-9
• Kaling, Mindy. Questions I Ask When I Want to Talk About Myself: 50 Topics to Share With Friends, Clarkson Potter, 2013; ISBN 978-0-449-81988-3

See also

• Asian Indians in the New York City metropolitan region

References

1. "Vera M Chokalingam - United States Public Records". FamilySearch. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
2. ^ Ulaby, Neda (February 4, 2009). "On TV, Immigrants' Kids Mine Cultural Convergence". Morning Edition. NPR. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
3. ^ Sittenfeld, Curtis (September 25, 2011). "A Long Day at 'The Office' With Mindy Kaling". nytimes.com. Sunday Magazine. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
4. Kaling, Mindy (October 3, 2011). "Flick Chicks: A guide to women in the movies". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
5. Rodman, Sarah (September 25, 2012). "Mindy Kaling's mother inspired new TV 'Project'". Boston Globe. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
6. Coen, Jessica (December 12, 2011). "Mindy Kaling Visits Jezebel, Takes Your Questions". Jezebel. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
7. ^ Maron, Marc (March 12, 2012). "Episode 261 - Mindy Kaling" (Audio podcast). wtfpod.com. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
8. "Swati Chokalingam M.D.: Obituary". The Boston Globe. February 2, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
9. "Swati Chokalingam - United States Social Security Death Index". FamilySearch. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
10. Cosgrove Baylis, Shelia (November 12, 2013). "Mindy Kaling: My Late Mom 'Was the Love of My Life'". People. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
11. Chokalingam, Vijay J. "About Vijay Jojo Chokalingam". Almost Black: The True Story Of An Indian American Who Got Into Medical School Pretending To Be An African American. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
12. Dartmouth Staff (June 10, 2001). "List of Graduates". The Dartmouth. Retrieved January 28, 2015. As "Vera Chokalingam"
13. ^ Swiss, Zach (May 23, 2006). "Kaling '01 embarks on acting, writing career for 'The Office'". thedartmouth.com. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
14. ^ O'Brien, Conan (November 7, 2012). "Mindy Kaling Was A Conan Intern - CONAN on TBS" (Video interview). YouTube. Team Coco. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
15. ^ Soroff, Jonathan. "Mindy Kaling interview in Improper Bostonian". The Improper Bostonian. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
16. ^ Phipps, Keith (April 4, 2007). "Mindy Kaling - Interview". A.V. Club. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
17. Weber, Bruce (August 12, 2003). "Theater Review; Bad Will Hunting, Armed With Venom Darts". The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
18. Kaling, Mindy (January 27, 2012). "Ongoing Concerns". The Concerns of Mindy Kaling. Archived from the original (Blog) on March 6, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
19. Gross, Terry (November 2, 2006). "Writing 'The Office'". Fresh Air. NPR. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
20. "The Office Webisodes: The 3rd Floor". OfficeTally.com. November 5, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
21. Ausiello, Michael (September 15, 2011). "Scoop: Mindy Kaling Gets Major Office Promotion — But There's a Twist!". TVLine.
22. ^ Helms, Ed (April 13, 2013). "The 2013 Time 100 - Mindy Kaling: Comedian and creator, 33". Time.
23. Soroff, Jonathan (2013). "Mindy Kaling: The star of The Mindy Project tells us about stereotypes and being a smart girl in Hollywood". The Improper Bostonian. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
24. Ty, Kanara (February 1, 2012). "Fox picks up Mindy Kaling pilot". Asia Pacific Arts.
25. Martin, Rachel (October 16, 2014). "Mindy Kaling On Refusing To Be An Outsider And Sexism On Set" (Audio interview). Morning Edition. NPR. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
26. Mindy Kaling at IMDb
27. Itzkoff, Dave (April 22, 2010). "After 'Office' Hours, Mindy Kaling Writes a Book". The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
28. Chaney, Jen (November 18, 2011). "Review: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)". The Washington Post.
29. Mindy Kaling (June 28, 2013). "Authors share their all-time favorite summer reads". Time. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
30. EW Staff (July 31, 2013). "This Week's Cover: The New Hollywood starring Mindy Kaling". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
31. ^ Slezak, Michael (May 27, 2014). "TCA Awards 2014: True Detective Snags Four Nominations; Good Wife, Breaking Bad Land Three Each". TVLine. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
32. Kaling, Mindy (December 18, 2009). "Unbelievable Holiday Tales: Scripting a Fantasy of a Family". The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2015.

External links

• Mindy Kaling at IMDb
• Template:Official blog

Template:Persondata

• 1979 births
• Living people
• 21st-century American actresses
• 21st-century American writers
• 21st-century women writers
• Actresses from Cambridge, Massachusetts
• People of Indian descent
• Actresses of Indian descent
• American comedy writers
• American film actresses
• American Hindus
• American people of Bengali descent
• American people of Indian Tamil descent
• American people of Tamil descent
• American stand-up comedians
• American television actresses
• American television directors
• American television producers
• American television writers
• American writers of Asian descent
• American writers of Indian descent
• American women comedians
• American women writers
• American voice actresses
• Dartmouth College alumni
• Women television directors
• Women television writers
• Writers from Massachusetts
• Writers Guild of America Award winners
• Showrunners