A Conversation with Mindy Kaling

Emmy-nominated writer, Tony Award-winning producer, New York Times best-selling author, director, and actor Mindy Kaling has been named one of the brightest voices of her generation.

In 2023, The White House honored Kaling with the National Medal of Arts, the highest civilian honor given to artists by the United States government and received the Producers Guild of America’s prestigious Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television. In 2022, Kaling International was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential Companies. In 2012, Kaling was named to the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list.

At 24, Kaling joined the eight-person writing staff at NBC’s The Office. During her eight seasons at the show, she wrote twenty-three episodes (far more than any other writer) and was nominated for an Emmy—the first for a woman of color in any writing category.

Kaling is the creator, star, and executive producer of The Mindy Project, for which she wrote 24 of the 117 episodes created over six seasons.

In 2020, Kaling released the critically acclaimed series Never Have I Ever for Netflix. Season 1 reached 40 million homes in its first four weeks of release, with the fourth and final season premiering in 2023 to critical acclaim. Kaling is also the co-creator and executive producer of The Sex Lives of College Girls, which had the biggest premiere of any comedy on Max in 2021. Following its success, the show was renewed for a second and third season. In 2024, Kaling produced the Oscar-nominated short film, Anuja, a powerful story that follows two sisters on a journey to find joy and opportunity in a world intent on their exploitation and exclusion. Kaling is a co-creator, producer, and writer for her new Netflix series Running Point, which held #1 TV Show in the U.S. for two weeks including over a billion minutes viewed in the first week following release.

In between all her ventures, Kaling has released two New York Times bestselling comedic memoirs: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) and Why Not Me?, in addition to a collection of essays titled Nothing Like I Imagined. Most recently, Kaling launched her imprint Mindy's Book Studio for Amazon Publishing, with the mission of publishing titles from new and emerging diverse voices.

Senior West Coast Editor, Glamour

Jessica Radloff is the senior West Coast editor at Glamour, with her primary focus being on entertainment. Jessica is also a New York Times best-selling author (The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, which was published in October 2022). The book is also a USA TODAY bestseller, and was named one of New York magazine and Vulture's best comedy books of 2022. Jessica is also the host of The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast for Warner Bros., which is now streaming weekly on Max and whenever you get your podcasts. 

Jessica frequently moderates panels for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, SAG/AFTRA, Critics Choice, and more. Recent panels include Shrinking, Your Friends & Neighbors, Bridgerton, Running Point, The Crown, Grey's Anatomy, Lessons in Chemistry, Love & Death, Outlander, Emily in Paris, Young Sheldon, and more. She also appears on Access Hollywood to discuss the latest in entertainment and awards season.

She is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a B.A. in media arts, and minor in journalism and theatre arts. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association, Television Critics Association, Screen Actors Guild, and a Television Academy associate member.