Actress-writer Mindy Kaling was accompanied by her kids’ “godfather”, The Office co-star BJ Novak, when she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday in the category of Television.
“Today we honored a true trailblazer, a creator and an inspiration to many @mindykaling Congratulations on receiving your well-deserved star on the @hwdwalkoffame,” wrote the organisers alongside photos on social media.
The photos also feature Kaling’s friends from the industry, Brenda Song and Macaulay Culkin. Kaling looked stunning in a black bodycon dress with a dramatic hemline during the ceremony. This is the 2,800th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
According to a report on American media outlet People, the 45-year-old actress gave a special shoutout to Novak, calling him an "important and integral part of her family”. Before Kaling took the stage, Novak praised Kaling’s commitment to her craft. He also acknowledged the impact she has on those around her.
"Mindy respects and understands [fame] in a very intuitive way because in addition to being a brilliant and wildly successful showrunner, she is also an incredible mother of three, a deep and caring daughter and friend and mentor to so many," he said.
"You'd be on the walk of talent if they had one. You'd be on the walk of friendship. You'd be on the walk of compassionate parenthood, but let's face it all of these would be terrible field trips, so here you are instead, very deservedly, a person who means so much to so many on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,” Novak added.
An article on the official website of the Hollywood Walk of Fame describes Kaling as “one of the brightest voices of her generation”.
In 2023, the White House honored Kaling with the National Medal of Arts, the highest civilian honour given to artists by the US government. Last February, she received the Producers Guild of America’s prestigious Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television. In 2022, Kaling’s production banner, Kaling International, was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential Companies. In 2012, Kaling made it 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 with the show, she wrote 23 episodes, the most for a writer on the hit show, and was nominated for an Emmy — the first for a woman of colour in any writing category. Mindy essayed the role of Kelly Kapoor in the series, while Novak played her love interest Ryan Howard.
Kaling is the creator, star, and executive producer of The Mindy Project. Additionally, in 2020, Kaling co-created the popular Netflix series Never Have I Ever with Lang Fisher.
Kaling co-created and is the executive producer of the new Netflix/WBTV comedy Running Point, starring Kate Hudson. The series is set to premiere on Netflix on February 27.
