Mindy Kaling is reflecting on her past decade.
“I saw this 2016 trend and loved it and almost didn’t post because I look different but these pics are too fun not to share. (I wonder if anyone else can relate lol) but I loved this time and all my memories from then, so had to post!” Kaling, 46, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, January 15. “Enjoy!!!!”
Kaling shared a series of photos from the set of The Mindy Project, which aired from 2012 to 2017. (Kaling, who created the show, starred as gynecologist Mindy Lahiri.)
In the years since The Mindy Project wrapped, Kaling has made headlines for her thinner figure — and has been open about her weight loss.
“I eat what I like to eat. If I do any kind of restrictive diet, it never really works for me. I just eat less of it,” she explained to ET in April 2022. “I wish there was something more juicy or dynamic about the way that I’ve lost a little bit of weight, but that’s the way I’ve done it.”
The next year, Kaling explained that she wants to be healthy for her children. (Kaling welcomed daughters Katherine “Kit” and Anne and son Spencer in 2017, 2024 and 2020, respectively. She has not publicly shared the identity of the father of her children.)
“Look I know I’m clearly materialistic but the best birthday gift to me, for the rest of my life, are these two guys,” she wrote via Instagram while sharing a photo with Kit and Spencer at the time. “I was never a ‘kid’ person. When my mom passed though, it just clicked in me: I wanted kids with such intense certainty. I bet some of you can relate.”
She continued, “I’m just trying to be present for them (hard for me! I’m impatient!), being up for anything (again hard for me, I am not whimsical!), and stay healthy for these two guys (ALSO hard! I just want to eat cheesesteaks every meal in front of the TV) for until I’m an old gray skeleton they’re like ‘Mom, you gotta go.’ My doctor told me that this year I was the healthiest I’ve been in years. That’s a pretty damn good gift, right?”
Mindy Kaling has been open about her health journey over the years. Many fans met the comedian through her character on The Office, Kelly Kapoor, which debuted in 2005. In addition to recurring on screen, Kaling was in the writer’s room. During a season 5 episode, Kelly went on a diet inspired by Beyoncé — […]
Kaling, who noted that she’s “usually kind of low-level anxious,” explained that she’s “just gonna take one minute on my birthday to acknowledge that I am happy.”
“Man, there are ups and downs in this life!!” she concluded. “But my ups seem to be the most important ones right now. Thanks for my birthday love. (Also maybe I will buy myself that trendy Dior bag that looks like a kidney bean). ❤️.”
One month later, Kaling got candid about the fan response surrounding her weight loss.
“It’s not super exciting for me to talk about my body and how it’s analyzed,” Kaling told Allure in 2023.
When the outlet asked for her response to some fans feeling like they’ve “lost” a body positive ally along her weight loss journey, Kaling replied, “So I think I’m just not going to get into it because it takes over the conversation unfortunately and people take it so personally.”
