How does she do it? Mindy Kaling isn’t just a single mom to her 17-month-old daughter, Katherine, but she has a hugely successful career as well.
“I’m in a privileged position because I have help, you know, and I know that’s not the case for all American women,” the actress, 39, told Us Weekly exclusively on Thursday, May 30, at the Late Night premiere. “I’m a single mom, but I have the means to have help. … It is what it is!”
The Office alum went on to say that she hopes her career inspires her little one. “I work incredibly hard,” she told Us. “It’s like, work hard, play hard. I definitely work more hard than I play hard. And so I think that’s not bad. I think that I have never gotten anything easily and that’s OK!”
Kaling added: “If I can set that example for her to work hard like I did, I think I’d be happy.”
The Mindy Project creator, who has not yet shared the identity of her baby girl’s father, gave birth in December 2017.
She revealed four months earlier that she was expecting her first child. “I have a lot of control over a lot of aspects of my life, and this is one where I’m like, ‘OK, it’s out of my hands,’ which is kind of a fun feeling,” the Why Not Me? author said on the Today show at the time.
Kaling’s late mother, Swati Roysircar, has given her a great example to follow. “My mom was incredibly fierce and so devoted to us, just loved us and really wanted us to be happy no matter what we did,” the Ocean’s 8 star said. “My career choice was not something that she was familiar with and she was just so supportive of that. And if I could give that to my child, just that open-mindedness, I’d be so happy.”
With reporting by Taylor Ferber
