Mindy Kaling

“Don’t trust any one story of how to become successful.”

At 24, Mindy Kaling joined “The Office” as a writer and actor.

She was the only woman and the only person of color in the writers’ room.

But she quickly became one of its most influential voices, writing 18 episodes, directing, producing, and turning Kelly Kapoor into a fan favorite.

When the show was nominated for an Emmy, the Television Academy told her she’d be cut from the producer list unless she could prove she belonged.

So she wrote an essay detailing her contributions and got signed letters from her colleagues.

No one else was asked to do that.

In 2012, she launched “The Mindy Project,” becoming one of the first South Asian women to create, write, produce, and star in her own network series.

When Fox canceled the show after three seasons, Hulu picked it up and ran it for another three.

That same year, she founded her production company, Kaling International, and started building a portfolio of stories that Hollywood usually overlooks.

She co-created “Never Have I Ever” on Netflix, a coming-of-age comedy based on her childhood as an Indian-American teen in Massachusetts.

The show was a breakthrough for South Asian representation on TV.

Then came “The Sex Lives of College Girls” on Max, a series about friendship, sexuality, and ambition that ran from 2021 to 2025.

She wrote and starred in “Late Night,” a film about the white male world of late-night television.

And in 2025, she co-created Running Point, a Netflix series inspired by Jeanie Buss, starring Kate Hudson as the new owner of an NBA team.

She voiced characters in Inside Out, Wreck-It Ralph, and Despicable Me.

Appeared in Ocean’s 8, A Wrinkle in Time, No Strings Attached, The Five-Year Engagement, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

And produced Anuja, a short film that was nominated for an Oscar in 2024.

Mindy earned a Tony Award in 2022 for co-producing the Broadway musical “A Strange Loop.”

She’s also a bestselling author, with three memoirs.

Two of which hit the New York Times Best Seller list.

But Kaling isn’t just focused on content.

She’s building infrastructure for the next generation of creators.

In 2025, Dartmouth College will open the Mindy Kaling Theater Lab, a space she funded for student productions inside the Hopkins Center for the Arts.

The lab will support student work from concept to performance and mirror the size of the Moore Theater, allowing for full-scale productions.

She’s a member of Dartmouth’s Centennial Circle, a giving society focused on women’s philanthropy, and one of the first Indian women to have a campus space named after her.

And for her 40th birthday, she donated $40,000 to 40 different charities... each one suggested by her followers.