Mindy Kaling is by far one of the funniest women on TV these days. Fans first fell in love with her when she played the somewhat obsessed yet aloof Kelly on The Office. She then managed to win even more fans and their hearts with her massively popular primetime show, The Mindy Project. She’s also opened up about her personal life, her concerns, her issues, and her hopes for the future in several of her different books.

But when it comes to her life as a mom, Mindy Kaling likes to keep things private. Sure, she has no problem talking about her body image, her appearance, or her love life, but she’s yet to reveal who the father of her daughter Katherine Kaling is. What’s more, she’s also very careful not to show her baby girl to the public eye. Mindy might be a huge celebrity and Hollywood star, but she also knows just how unkind the critics and the online world can be sometimes. With that being said, we’ve got 20 different ways Mindy Kaling’s life has changed ever since she became a mom.

20 She Is Embracing Single Motherhood

Mindy Kaling makes it no secret that while she is doing her best job raising her baby on her own right now, she never thought in her life that things would end up this way for her. But it’s a decision that she doesn’t regret. She’s absolutely in love with her daughter Katherine and loves spending time with her. Mindy told Shape Magazine, “She is a really happy baby. When she was born, she was kind of skinny and anxious. I think she was like, Can this woman take care of me? But during our many breastfeeding sessions, we’ve gotten to know each other, and she’s learned to trust me over time.”

19 She Didn’t Post a Birth Announcement

Mindy is the kind of celebrity who loves to use social media, but never for her personal life. In fact, many people were surprised that she didn’t post a birth announcement online. With that being said, she does love talking about Katherine in her media interviews. “I knew how much I would love her and love the experience of being with her. I never understood how much I would worry and how much that worry is unceasing,” she said. “Happiness for me, now, is just a feeling of relief. I’m in a constant state of worry but I’m enjoying it too. I hope she’s developing correctly — I’m anxious constantly. I’m hoping that will change a little bit. I haven’t even thought about when she’s bigger.”

18 She’s Not A Social Media Mom

As mentioned above, Mindy Kaling is not a social media mom, which for some of her fans, seems pretty odd. That’s because they are so used to her talking about her private life and personal issues in her media interviews or in one of her books. But it looks like Mindy does a very careful job of not crossing that line between her real private life and her public persona. She gives her fans what they want, but she’s very careful about protecting her daughter’s privacy. Mindy is well aware that she’s the celebrity in the family, not her child. And she wants to keep it that way.

17 She Has Experienced Mom Guilt

If there is one thing that Mindy has already experienced, it’s mom guilt. She has a hard time working, knowing that she would rather be with her baby girl instead. “I've had to learn to release myself from mom guilt at least a couple times a day,” she tells InStyle. “That's been a big one for me. I’m also learning to feel better about asking for help, whether it's from family or hiring help. It’s not profound, but I love my career and I don't want to make myself feel bad about pursuing both. Just cutting myself some slack has been very helpful for me.”

16 Her Parenting Style Is More Similar to Her Parents' Style Than Other Celeb Moms

Even though her daughter Katherine is just one years old, Mindy already knows that she has a different kind of parenting style, especially compared to other celebrity moms out there. She thinks that she is going to be just like her own parents. Mindy told In Style, “I think I'll be definitely a very different kind of parent, but who knows! My parents were super busy, but they were very strict about certain things like doing homework for three hours a night. I was really monitored in a very loving way. I like knowing my parents had a really strong hand, and I felt very noticed.”

15 She Chooses Her Projects More Carefully

Now that she’s a mother, Mindy Kaling chooses her Hollywood projects much more carefully. She doesn’t want to do anything that feels like it will be a waste of time, especially since that time is so precious for her. “You see all these photos of writers and you’re like, ‘Oh, there’s nobody with gray hair or anyone older than 40.’ And I’m 39, so that’s [daunting], especially when you have a baby,” Kaling said. “But what I’ve been noticing more and more is that there are more working women. And the writers’ room … is one of the most ageist places ever.”

14 She Doesn’t Talk About The Baby Daddy

Here’s one just mystery that it looks like no one will ever figure out. Just like January Jones, Mindy Kaling doesn’t like to talk about her baby daddy. As a matter of fact, the identity of her daughter’s biological father has remained a mystery ever since she announced that she was expecting. And for Mindy, she wants to keep it that way. There’s a lot of speculation that the baby daddy is a non-celebrity and that he simply wouldn’t do so well with all of the attention he would get as Mindy Kaling’s public partner. For now, their situation seems to be working for them.

13 She Is Insecure About Her Mothering Skills

One of the reasons why Mindy Kaling’s fans love her so much is because she is very honest about her feelings. She often worries about her insecurity and whether or not she’ll ever be a “good enough” mom. Luckily, Baby Katherine thinks she’s the best mom on the planet so far. There’s no better critic than a pint-sized one, right? "She's so great and I just love being a mom. 0 feedback except for crying for the longest time," Kaling joked. "Then you start wondering, 'Does she care about me? Know about me besides that I'm a food source for her?"

12 She Knows Who The Not-So-Nice Moms Are Out There

Even though she’s only been doing this thing called motherhood for about a year now, she knows that there are plenty of “mean” moms out there. In other words, they always have something to say about what you are doing, what you are wearing, or how you are raising your family for that matter – even though it’s none of their business. Mindy has said, “It’s so easy to criticize parenting until you’re a parent, so one of the nice things about becoming a parent is that I’ll be able to openly criticize other parenting because I will have a child.”

11 She Doesn’t Pretend To Be A Perfect Mom

If there is one thing that Mindy Kaling has never done in her life, it’s pretend that she is perfect. She doesn’t pretend that she knows all of life’s answers, and especially when it comes to parenting. But what she does know is that her daughter has been listening to every word she says, both in and outside of the womb. Mindy told Shape Magazine, “What’s great for me is that my doctor told me that incessant chatter is good for a baby, and I’ve lived my whole life waiting to have a captive audience. So I spend the days narrating to her. I’m constantly doing voiceover for her, as I did in The Mindy Project. Honestly, I feel like her first words are going to be, ‘Just stop. Please!’”

10 She Is Trying To Strike The Balance Between Motherhood And Her Hollywood Life

Here’s something else that a lot of Mindy’s fans can relate to: the actress and funny woman is still trying to find that balance between her Hollywood career and being a mother. For Mindy, she knows that her career is important, because her daughter depends on her, especially when it comes to financial security and their future. That’s why she works as hard as she does. “But I think it’s a tiny bit unfair as well, and people are worried that because you have kids you won’t be able to pay more attention,” Kaling continues. “Any mother will tell you it makes you so razor-sharp focused on your career because you’re so worried about money.”

9 She Was Never A Baby Person

Up until her daughter was born, Mindy admits that she was never really a baby person in her life. As a matter of fact, she always kept her distance from kids altogether, much to the surprise of her fans. "It’s really profound and strange. I was not a kid person at all," she told Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show, according to People. "I was the person, if you had a baby at a party, I would go up to them and shake their hand and be like, 'Hello.' So I didn’t know [or] understand how to be around babies."

8 Her First Year Of Motherhood Was Relatable

Mindy Kaling is a very honest person, even though she’s very careful about the things she chooses to talk about in her interviews. With that being said, many people believe that her first year of motherhood was very relatable. She had just as many ups and downs as many other mothers that are in her same shoes. According to Romper, Mindy said, “I was on planes [and] when babies would cry, I would be mad at the families. Now I’m like, ‘Let them cry, let them do whatever they want. They can sit on me and poop if they want.’ Now I know more.”

7 Raising A Baby Takes A Village

Mindy often talks about raising her baby on her own and at this point, she realizes that it really does take a village. But for her, Mindy often has a hard time asking for help, especially when she needs it the most. But at the same time, doing it on her own feels almost impossible. Mindy said, “That's been a big one for me. I’m also learning to feel better about asking for help, whether it's from family or hiring help... I love my career and I don't want to make myself feel bad about pursuing both. Just cutting myself some slack has been very helpful.”

6 She Calls Motherhood A Rewarding Job

Mindy Kaling has had plenty of roles in her life, but it’s her role as a mother that has been the most rewarding one in her life so far. She doesn’t need an Emmy award, a Golden Globe, or a room full of people to tell her that she’s doing a good job. All she needs is to see her daughter Katherine smile back at her whenever they are sharing a moment together. Motherhood, to Kaling, “is so rewarding in a way you can’t explain. I look back at myself — it’s very crazy to me. I feel brave having done it.”

5 She Worried About Doing It All By Herself

Mindy admits that she was scared to become a mother, simply because she didn’t know what to expect from it. “I will tell you a personal story,” Mindy said in an interview in 2018. “After my daughter was born in December, I remember bringing her home and being in my house with her for the first time and thinking, ‘Huh. According to movies and TV, this is traditionally the time when my mother and spouse are supposed to be here, sharing this experience with me.’ And I looked around, and I had neither. And for a moment, it was kind of [tough] Like, ‘Can I do this by myself?’”

4 She Loves Making Her Daughter Laugh

While there is no doubt that Mindy Kaling makes millions of her fans laugh every day – both in her films and her television work – there’s one little fan out there that thinks the world of her. And that’s her daughter, Katherine. The little tot laughs at all of her mother’s jokes, no matter what she says or what she does. And the actress is loving every single moment of it, too. Mindy said, “Her whole thing now is just constant smiles... she’s incredibly easy to make laugh... I just sing from The Sound of Music for her and she’s cracking up. It’s the best.”

3 She Misses Her Own Mom, Too

Here’s something that Mindy doesn’t talk about very often, but it’s something that she carries very close to her heart: her mother. Unfortunately, her mother Swati passed away from pancreatic cancer back in 2012 and Mindy makes it no secret that she misses her every single day. She also wishes that Swati was still here so she could enjoy being a grandmother to little Katherine. There isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that the actress doesn’t think of her mom. Mindy has said, “My relationship with my mom is really the single most profound relationship that I've ever had in my life.”

2 What About BJ Novak?

And while Mindy has done a very good job of keeping mum about the identity of her daughter’s biological father, a lot of people can’t help but wonder about another special person in her life: BJ Novak. Even though they are supposedly no longer together, he was always a huge part of her life and still is. According to Pop Sugar, Mindy had this to say about their breakup: “He's a good friend of mine, yeah. He's my best friend. He broke up with me. It was years and years ago that that breakup happened. I was so sad, not angry, sad."

1 Will She Have More Kids In The Future?

Right now, Mindy is taking things day by day. She is enjoying every moment she has with Katherine and not putting much thought about having more children in the future. But with that being said, family has always been a huge part of her life. Mindy once said, “I've always assumed that my parents and my in-laws would live with me when I get older and have children. I just assume it will happen and that it's the right way to do things. It's a deeply Indian custom - that you kind of inherit your parents and your spouse's parents and you take care of them eventually.”