In the words of the character that made her famous, Dunder Mifflin’s ditzy customer service representative Kelly Kapoor, Mindy Kaling is first and foremost a “business bitch.” The actress/writer/director/producer/obvious multi-hyphenate has created five TV shows since her primetime debut on The Office in 2005, won a Tony Award, received six Emmy nominations and made Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list in 2013.
Like many risk-takers, her work has not been without backlash (many critics described her animated series Velma as a swing and a miss), but overall, what she’s put on film (and TV) more than speaks for itself. Whether she’s delivering babies as Dr. Mindy Lahiri, serving up hilarious anecdotes to her old boss Conan O’Brien or impersonating Ben Affleck in an Off-Broadway play, Kaling’s comedic genius is definitely worthy of celebration — especially on her birthday.
So in honor of Kaling’s 44th year of life, we’re raising a glass of pinot grigio to all the times she’s made us laugh, smile or just tilt our heads and wonder about her “weird as hell” relationship with BJ Novak.
