Another Year Wiser and Wittier: Mindy Kaling Turns 36
Mindy Kaling turns 36 today. (Photo: Getty)
Mindy Kaling turns 36 today, and the prolific actress, comedian, writer, Tweeter, voiceover artist (hear her as Disgust in Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out) has gifted us with countless quotables over the years. With her second book of essays, Why Not Me? out on September 29, we can’t wait for her to spill the beans on—well, everything. When Kaling writes, speaks, or Tweets, she treats her audience like a good friend at a sleepover: Expect a little bit of TMI and a lot of sincerity and heart. In her upcoming book, Kaling has two essays, “How to Look Spectacular: A Starlet’s Confessions” and “Unlikely Leading Lady,” which discuss beauty tricks she learned in Hollywood and society’s fixation on the weight of actresses. “Most women we see onscreen are either so thin that they’re walking clavicles or so huge that their only scenes involve them breaking furniture,” she writes. While we wait in anticipation for more of her clever musings, here are some of our favorite quotations from Kaling, on beauty and confidence:
On being condescendingly praised for accepting herself:
“I’m also the recipient of a lot of backhanded compliments about it, where people are like, ‘It’s so nice that Mindy Kaling doesn’t feel she needs to subscribe to the ideals of beauty that other people do.’ And I’m like, I do subscribe. They’re like, ‘It’s so refreshing that Mindy feels comfortable to let herself go and be a fat sea monster!’ By the way, I run and work out. It takes a lot of effort to look like a normal/chubby woman.”
On the double standard of interviews:
“There are little Indian girls out there who look up to me, and I never want to belittle the honor of being an inspiration to them. But while I’m talking about why I’m so different, white male show runners get to talk about their art. I always get asked, ‘Where do you get your confidence?’ I think people are well meaning, but it’s pretty insulting. Because what it means to me is, ‘You, Mindy Kaling, have all the trappings of a very marginalized person. You’re not skinny, you’re not white, you’re a woman. Why on earth would you feel like you’re worth anything?’”
On being a role model to girls:
“I get so worried about girls with body image stuff… And I feel like I have been able to have a fun career and be an on-camera talent and be someone who has boyfriends and love interests and wears nice clothes and those kinds of things without having to be an emaciated stick. And it is possible to do it. In life, you don’t have to be that way and you can have a great life, a fun life, and a fulfilling love life.”
On weight anxiety:
“If someone called me chubby, it would no longer be something that kept me up late at night. Being called fat is not like being called stupid or unfunny, which is the worst thing you could ever say to me. Do I envy Jennifer Hudson for being able to lose all that weight and look smokin’ hot? Of course, yes. Do I sometimes look at Gisele Bundchen and wonder how awesome life would be if I never had to wear Spanx? Duh, of course. That’s kind of the point of Gisele Bundchen. And maybe I will, once or twice, for a very short period of time. But on the list of things I want to do in my lifetime, that’s not near the top. I mean, it’s not near the bottom either. I’d say it’s right above ‘Learn to drive a vespa,’ but several notches below 'film a chase scene for a movie.’
On confidence:
”'Why the f— not me?’ should be your motto.“
On ambition:
"I never want to be called the funniest Indian female comedian that exists. I feel like I can go head-to-head with the best white, male comedy writers that are out there. Why would I want to self-categorize myself into a smaller group than I’m able to compete in?”
On losing her mother to cancer:
“My relationship with my mom is really the single most profound relationship that I’ve ever had in my life. I said to her, ‘Mom, I’m going to be so lonely without you.’ She’s crying now but keeps going. And she just said, ‘You have to be your own best friend. If you always remember that, you will always have someone there with you.’”
Related:
The Healthy Project: Starring Mindy Kaling
25 Famous Women on Female Friendship
Jill Kargman on Making Her TV Debut at 40, Quitting Botox, & Her Edgy New Comedy ‘Odd Mom Out
