Inside life of The Office's Mindy Kaling - including co-star romance and brand-new series

Mindy Kaling, renowned for her role as the controversial Kelly Kapoor in The Office, has since enjoyed a successful career as a writer.

She's made waves with HBO Max's The Sex Lives of College Girls, now delighting fans with its third season. With Pauline Chalamet leading the cast, this popular show follows young university women navigating the complexities of their sexual identities and the challenges of higher education.

Kaling co-created the show with Justin Noble, a producer and writer known for his work on Netflix's Never Have I Ever, yet another lauded project by The Office star.

As viewers eagerly devour the new episodes of the coming-of-age series, we take a moment to delve into Mindy Kaling's personal journey and revisit her off-screen romance with a former colleague.

24 June 1979 marks the birth of Vera Mindy Chokalingam, better known as Mindy Kaling, in Massachusetts.

Born to Indian immigrants Avudaiappan and Swati Chokalingam, who moved to the US just before she arrived, Kaling was given the first name Vera. However, Mindy became her moniker as her parents were keen on an American name for their daughter.

While her mother was expecting in Nigeria, she found inspiration for naming her after the '70s US sitcom Mork & Mindy, reports the Mirror.

Enduring the heartbreaking loss of her mother to pancreatic cancer in 2012 profoundly affected Kaling. Reflecting on her mother's impact, she said a year later: "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."

In an open conversation with fellow writer and actor Lena Dunham for Rolling Stone, Kaling reflected: "She [her mother] was the love of my life."

Mindy Kaling's journey