Mindy Kaling Has Babies on the Brain at Age 35: "If I Want to Have Three Kids, I Need to Get Going"

Actress also tells Flare about The Mindy Project's third season

By Zach Johnson Sep 02, 2014 6:55 PMTags
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Hear that? That's the sound of Mindy Kaling's biological clock ticking.

The actress plays an obstetrician on The Mindy Project, the half-hour Fox rom-com she created in 2012 that's paired her with a wide range of love interests (Tommy Dewey, Anders Holm, Chris Messina, Seth Meyers and Seth Rogen, to name a few). Now, at age 35, the single star says she's ready to settle down.  "This has been the first year I realized that if I want to have three kids, I need to get going," Kaling says.

(Her TV alter ego, Dr. Mindy Lahiri, is in a similar headspace. Coincidence?)

Of course, there are perks to being single and childless—particularly when you've got a schedule like Kaling's. "In my 20s, I was not only boy crazy, but marriage and relationship crazy. Now it's almost the opposite," she says in Flare's October 2014 issue. "My work is so rewarding and I'm so self-centered about it that I'm kind of excited about not having to go home and ask someone about their day."

Critics generally adore The Mindy Project, though Kaling wishes the Fox sitcom's ratings were higher. "I come from a hit show [The Office], and I am competitive and I am a perfectionist. So for me, ratings do count," she admits. "Wednesday mornings, I always check, and it affects my demeanor for a while."

"Whether it stays on the air or it doesn't, I want to feel like it's my show," she continues. Over the years, Kaling has tweaked her character's personality a bit. "I don't think about it a ton, but I was surprised by how much not just men, but also women, felt like they wanted her to be less selfish," she says. "Because the show has this romantic aspect to it, Mindy Lahiri can't be as edgy as I thought at the beginning."

The show is grounded in reality, but Kaling notes that some elements—including the set, for example—are unrealistic. "Whenever I walk in there, I think, 'Man, I wish my OB/GYN had an office like that. I think sometimes our show is seen as breezier than it is, because it looks beautiful and the people are dressed really well," she tells Flare. "On a lot of shows, the aesthetic is kind of cruddy, which seems to equal really funny, which I don't think is correct. If you're looking for this vérité thing, watch a documentary."