Vera Mindy Chokalingam, better-known by her professional name of Mindy Kaling (born June 24, 1979), is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer best known for portraying Kelly Kapoor on the NBC sitcom The Office and creating and starring as Mindy Lahiri in the FOX sitcom The Mindy Project. She is also a co-executive producer, director, and writer of several of the show’s episodes. Mindy also wrote, was executive producer for and directed various episodes of The Office. She is also known for her roles in the films This Is the End, Wreck-It Ralph, and The Five-Year Engagement. Kaling was nominated five consecutive times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series as a producer of The Office. In 2010, she received a nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series with Greg Daniels for the episode, “Niagara”. In 2013, Kaling was recognized by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.