Vera Mindy Chokalingam has known professionally as Mindy Kaling is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director. She first gained recognition starring as Kelly Kapoor in the NBC sitcom The Office (2005–2013), for which she also served as a writer, executive producer, and director. For her work on the series, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series and five times for Outstanding Comedy Series. This Mindy Kaling quotes will motivate you.
Best Mindy Kaling Quotes
- “If you are going to ask your crush for their phone number, you are one of the small group of women I am so jealous of.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “If I’m going to be a mess, I might as well be a hot mess, right?” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “Write your own part. It is the only way I’ve gotten anywhere. It is much harder work, but sometimes you have to take destiny into your own hands.” ~ Mindy Kaling
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“Sometimes you just have to put on lip gloss and pretend to be psyched.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I have a personality defect where I sort of refuse to see myself as an underdog… It’s because of my parents. They raised me with the entitlement of a tall, blond, white man.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “When I was a kid, I would always write down lists of my favorite things and keep them in my wallet, just in case someone ever needed to know what my 10 favorite foods were, or my 10 favorite actors.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “One friend with whom you have a lot in common is better than three with whom you struggle to find things to talk about.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I’m the kind of person who would rather get my hopes up really high and watch them get dashed to pieces than wisely keep my expectations at bay and hope they are exceeded. This quality has made me a needy and theatrical friend, but has given me a spectacularly dramatic emotional life.” ~ Mindy Kaling
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“I feel the same way about clothes as I do about food. I want everything.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “Teenage girls, please don’t worry about being super popular in high school, or being the best actress in high school, or the best athlete. Not only do people not care about any of that the second you graduate, but when you get older, if you reference your successes in high school too much, it actually makes you look kind of pitiful, like some babbling old Tennessee Williams character with nothing else going on in her current life. What I’ve noticed is that almost no one who was a big star in high school is also big star later in life. For us overlooked kids, it’s so wonderfully fair.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I sort of refuse to be an outsider, even though I know that I very much look like one to a lot of people, and I refuse to view myself in such terms.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I want a schedule-keeping, waking-up-early, wallet-carrying, picture-hanging man. I don’t care if he takes prescription drugs for cholesterol or hair loss.” ~ Mindy Kaling
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“I have a personality defect where I refuse to see myself as an underdog.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I have a thick skin, which comes from being a not-really-skinny, dark-skinned Indian woman. I haven’t fit in every place, and so I’m kind of used to resistance.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “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?’” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I would rather have someone read my diary than look at my iPod playlists.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “Nothing gives you confidence like being a member of a small, weirdly specific, hard-to-find demographic.” ~ Mindy Kaling
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“There Has Ceased to Be a Difference Between My Awake Clothes and My Asleep Clothes” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “There are so many distractions you can face as a woman, either with relationships or worrying about, Should I go to this party? or, Should I be doing this to help me get ahead? All [success] is, is doing your work and staying focused. It’s boring advice, but boring good advice is what you can get from me!” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “When I was a kid, my parents smartly raised us to keep quiet, be respectful to older people, and generally not question adults all that much. I think that’s because they were assuming that 99 percent of the time, we’d be interacting with worthy, smart adults… They didn’t ever tell me ‘Sometimes you will meet idiots who are technically adults and authority figures. You don’t have to do what they say.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “Later, when you’re grown up, you realize you never really get to hang out with your family. You pretty much have only eighteen years to spend with them full time, and that’s it.” ~ Mindy Kaling
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“Listen, my body is attracted to your body but when you speak it makes my brain angry.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “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?” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “There are many teenage vampire books you could have purchased instead. I’m grateful you made this choice.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “In my mind, the sexiest thing in the world is the feeling that you’re wanted.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I once heard that Quentin Tarantino, who I obviously love and think is a genius, says that there’s no such thing as guilty pleasure, there’s only pleasures. And I do love that idea, because I do think that there’s a pretentiousness when people make a list of their favorite things. I like to live a life where I don’t think of my pleasures as guilty pleasures.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “Not to be weird, but I still have an ongoing relationship with my mom, even though she passed away, and I’ve been surprised at how much I’ve been able to convey to her. Now I sound like a total weirdo, but that’s true.” ~ Mindy Kaling
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“A remarkable thing about me is that the time that elapses between a sad thought and a flood of tears is three or four seconds.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I have the right to life, liberty and chicken wings.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I don’t consider myself a fashion person, I consider myself a shopping person. As a person who has girlie interests and a little bit of disposable income.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “Future hipsters will love me ironically.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I would love if gay men responded to me. All I want is for many gay men to dress up as me for Halloween.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “On ‘The Office,’ so much of the show is about disguising your true feelings and your romantic feelings because it was a mock documentary.” ~ Mindy Kaling
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“I love talking about clothes with women; it’s like a code because women dress for women.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I, like most women, I dress for other women, I think. If I was going to dress for men, I think in general I would be just wearing, like, a fitted black T-shirt and tight jeans every day.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I think I’ve always wanted to be a role model, and I think … everyone should try to live their life like they’d like to be a role model. I think it’s like the thing keeping me out of jail.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “The Internet also makes it extraordinarily difficult for me to focus. One small break to look up exactly how almond milk is made, and four hours later I’m reading about the Donner Party and texting all my friends: DID YOU GUYS KNOW ABOUT THE DONNER PARTY AND HOW MESSED UP THAT WAS? TEXT ME BACK SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT!” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I try not to put anything political on the forefront of what I’m trying to do creatively. At the same time, I do think it’s wonderful when I hear people say that it’s inspirational that I’m an Indian woman on camera. My life is very diverse, and my friends are a diverse group of people.” ~ Mindy Kaling
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“Best friend isn’t a person, it’s a tier.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I had these kind of unrealistic expectations that were fueled by romantic comedies, and it has both helped me and hurt me in many ways. It helped me because, in general, they’ve made me hopeful. I just figure things will eventually work out for me. But nobody is like any Tom Hanks character. Nobody is Hugh Grant. No one is Meg Ryan!” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “..I find it incredible impossible not to cry when I hear Stevie Nicks’s “Landslide,” especially the lyric: “I’ve been afraid of changing, because I’ve built my life around you.” I think a good test to see if a human is actually a robot/android/cylon is to have them listen to this song lyric and study their reaction. If they don’t cry, you should stab them through the heart. You will find a fusebox.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I was obsessed with being popular when I was in high school and never achieved it. There’s photos from our high school musicals and things, and I’m comically in the deep background, wearing a beggar’s costume.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “Growing up, I remember my parents feeling a little wary of ‘The Simpsons.’ This was the late eighties, and there was a wave of articles about TV shows that were bad for America. Then we all started watching it and loved it.” ~ Mindy Kaling
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“I found it to be smooth sailing – 100 percent smooth sailing my whole career.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “In high school, I had fun in my academic clubs, watching movies with my girlfriends, learning Latin, having long, protracted, unrequited crushes on older guys who didn’t know me, and yes, hanging out with my family. I liked hanging out with my family! Later, when you’re grown up, you realize you never get to hang out with your family. You pretty much have only eighteen years to spend with them full time, and that’s it.” ~ Mindy Kaling quotes
- “When men hear women want a commitment, they think it means commitment to a romantic relationship, but that’s not it. It’s a commitment to not floating around anymore. I want a guy who is entrenched in his own life. Entrenched is awesome.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “Sarah [Silverman] writes her own jokes. She doesn’t just go through her life and talk about everything. She sits down and crafts jokes. Sometimes her inspiration comes from areas of her life that are risqué. But she is an A-plus professional joke-writer in addition to being very attractive and a great performer.” ~ Mindy Kaling
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“I’m not into red carpet looks where it’s clear the woman wanted to look like a pretty, pretty princess.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I’m actually an impatient person. I’m very suited for television because with the process, it’s six weeks from the time you come up with an episode until when it airs. We can’t drag it out that long. With film, and this is not a profound observation or an original one; it can go on endlessly unless the movie’s like incredibly topical. That’s the challenge for me, as an impatient person who wants see things come to life. … I mean, it’s just this feeling I get when I see a movie I love.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “Almost every college playwright or sketch or improv comedian was sort of aware of Christopher Durang – even kids in high school. His short plays were so accessible to younger people and I think that was inspirational to me.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “If I can muster up any allure in my life, at this stage, I wouldn’t mind doing that.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I would say that my mother is the single biggest role model in my life, but that term doesn’t seem to encompass enough when I use it about her. She was the love of my life.” ~ Mindy Kaling
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“I feel like I’m in the right profession.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I really think guys only need two pairs of shoes. A nice pair of black shoes and a pair of Chuck Taylors.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “There’s obviously instances where I perceive sexism in my job. … I think that the sort of sexism that I see has been one that’s a little bit like a gentler form of sexism, but still a little bit debilitating, which is that when, as a producer and a writer, whether it was at The Office or [at The Mindy Project], if I make a decision, it’ll still seem like it’s up for debate.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I’ve been working in television for so long, since 2004, and I just worked nonstop throughout that time and I’ve learned so much. I’ve definitely done that 10,000 hours. I know the format really well and I feel comfortable in it. I’m excited about going into something I’m not so comfortable in, which is film.” ~ Mindy Kaling
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“I guess when you go to business school you never turn business off.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “Here’s my feeling: For everyone, men, and women, it’s important to be a feminist. It’s important to have female characters. It’s wonderful for women to mentor other women, but it’s just as important for women to mentor men and vice-versa. In my line of work, having Greg Daniels be such a great mentor to me is fantastic. Finding a writer’s assistant, be it a man or a woman, and encouraging them to think with a feminist perspective, is key.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “The funniest racism is the racism between minorities. It’s something you don’t see dramatized, but almost every minority I know who’s my age, they have these funny stories about their parents stereotyping other minorities.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “I have a whole system down for returning online shopping: a tape gun, a printer for return labels. That has replaced traditional window shopping in my life, as I’ve gotten busier.” ~ Mindy Kaling
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“I just have my characters say my controversial opinions and then hide behind them.” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “You should never have to say hello or goodbye. Even at work sometimes, and I know this is very unpopular, is that if I’m going to work every single day, I don’t think you should have to hug people hello every single day when you come to work. I saw you Monday!” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “My dad’s whole family is in Madras and I was born in America so we didn’t have that big Indian community. I don’t really have anything interesting to say about it. When I talk about it people are like, ‘meh, let’s talk about something else.'” ~ Mindy Kaling
- “More than half the questions I am asked are about the politics of the way I look” ~ Mindy Kaling
