Spotlight on funny girl Mindy Kaling

The Indian-American actress stars alongside a slew of female leads in the upcoming Ocean’s 8

INDIAN HERITAGE She was born Vera Mindy Chokalingam to immigrant parents in the USA and was the first Indian-American to have her own network TV show, The Mindy Kaling Project. It ran for six seasons and many of the storylines were loosely based on her mother, Swati Chokalingam, who – like the lead character – was an obstetrician/gynaecologist. Her mom was “such a pillar, such a rock in my family”, Mindy says. She was devastated when Swati was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer last year. She moved back home to be with her mom, who died eight months later.

GIRL POWER The 39-year-old actress says she feels lucky to have been involved in the projects she’s done in the past two years. “Looking at A Wrinkle in Time, looking at Ocean’s 8, I only worked with actresses over the age of 35 . . . it’s been great. To be able to be in two movies starring these incredible, diverse casts of women is incredible. I forgot what it was like to act with guys, pretty much.”

ROOKIE MOM Mindy gave birth to daughter Katherine Swati Kaling in December and is enjoying being a mom, even though she says she’s never been a “kid person”. Motherhood “is so rewarding, in a way you can’t explain; I feel brave having done it”. Katherine’s dad, who isn’t named on the birth certificate, is rumoured to be Mindy’s ex and former The Office castmate, actor BJ Novak.

PARENT PRIORITIES She wants to teach her daughter the importance of fitness early on. “I’m excited for her to see me work out and to know it’s a normal part of my life,” the actress says. “I wasn’t raised that way and I think when you don’t see that kind of thing as a kid, it’s really hard to pick it up. I also want her to be confident. I wasn’t that way as a child, and I want my daughter to be really confident all the time.”