Kaling’s parents are from India, they met while working at the same hospital in Nigeria. Her father is of Tamil heritage, and her mother is Bengali.
Kaling’s parents immigrated to the United States in 1979, the same year Kaling was born.
In 2012, Kaling’s mother died of pancreatic cancer.
At the time of pregnancy, her mother enjoyed the show “Mork and Mindy” and decided to name her after it.
Kaling has never been called Vera, her first name and has always been referred to as Mindy. According to her, the name ‘Vera’ is the name of the incarnation of a Hindu goddess.
When Kaling was 19, she was an intern at ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ (a talk show).
Kaling’s first big break was a show that she wrote for and starred in called ‘Matt and Ben.’
During Matt & Ben’s off-Broadway run, Kaling accidentally broke Brenda Wither’s nose.
Apart from her work in films and television, Kaling has written two New York Times best-selling memoirs titled ‘Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?’ and ‘Why Not Me?.’
In 2013, Kaling was identified as one of the “50 Coolest and Most Creative Entertainers” in Hollywood by EW magazine.
In the same year, ‘TIME‘ magazine named her one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.”
In 2014, Kaling was named one of ‘Glamour’ magazine’s Women of the Year.
Kaling is the first Indian-American to have her own network show.
Kaling has been a 1% owner of Swansea City A.F.C., an English Football League Championship soccer team based in Swansea, Wales.
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