Mindy Kaling is one of the funniest and currently most successful women in Hollywood. If you're not yet a huge fan, just pick up her glorious book "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)," find her hilariously quipping on Twitter and on her FOX series "The Mindy Project," and catch her candidly befriending and publicly crushing on Hollywood's finest men.
But the funny woman also has plenty of business savvy and a great head on her shoulders, into which she agreed to give her many followers a sneak peek. The 34-year-old opened up to Parade magazine and shared the ups and downs of being the creator, head writer and star of her own TV show, as well as the personal impact her show has on her.
In the interview, conducted in Kaling's LA home, she tells Parade that the day her show was green-lit by FOX, her mother died of pancreatic cancer. "It was like a gift from God or my mom," she tells the magazine. "I think she was giving me something so I didn't have to get crushed under the weight of my grief."
And though "The Mindy Project" has since been picked up for a second season, Kaling says much of the spotlight is directed at her unique status -- she's of Indian descent and one of the only women of color ever to create her own series on television -- rather than her actual work. "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," she says. "But while I'm talking about why I'm so different, white male show runners get to talk about their art."
Further discussing her appearance, says the always inspirational Kaling: "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?'"
As far as we're concerned, Mindy Kaling is worth a whole lot.