You might know her as Kelly from The Office, or Doctor Mindy Lahiri from The Mindy Project, but fellow Bostonians know her as Mindy Kaling from Cambridge, Massachusetts. The screenwriter, actress, producer, author, and businesswoman received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star recognizes her many accolades since launching her career in 1998 as an intern on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
While Kaling traded The Charles for Hollywood Boulevard, the multihyphenate often references New England in her many works— playing a doctor with family in Concord on her hit series The Mindy Project, or throwing in a Boston accent for one of her characters occasionally.
Mindy was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, attending Buckingham Browne & Nichols Upper School on Gerrys Landing Road before obtaining a bachelor’s degree in playwriting from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Kaling also performed in Dartmouth’s improv group, The Dog Day Players, and a cappella group The Rockapellas. Now an acclaimed screenwriter, Kaling once wrote for Dartmouth’s humor publication, Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern.
Mindy Kaling’s career beginnings
Before graduating, Kaling served as an intern on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, who will be hosting the Academy Awards this March. From 2002 through 2004, Kaling worked various jobs in industry while performing stand-up and comedic theatre she co-wrote with her friends, making headlines in many prestigious publications for her performances and original humor.
In 2004, Kaling got her big break as a writer and actress on The Office after Producer Greg Daniels read Kaling’s draft screenplay for the show. Kaling joined The Office, alongside Concord native, Steve Carell, and Newton natives, John Krasinski and B.J. Novak, as the only woman in a writer’s room of eight at just 24 years old. From that point on, Kaling continued to obtain accolade after accolade across television, film, fashion, and more.
Upcoming projects
In 2012 Mindy launched her production company, Kaling International. Mindy Kaling is working on several new projects including her new series starring Kate Hudson, Running Point, airing on Netflix on February 27. Kaling’s also teased a Legally Blonde sequel, and new series, Not Suitable For Work, about 20-somethings living in Manhattan’s Murray Hill neighborhood.