Mindy Kaling “panics a lot” about being a single mother.
The 44-year-old actress has Katherine, six, and three-year-old Spender from a previous relationship and explained that while she finds being a single parent “really rewarding,” she is aware that she is the sole earner in the house and she needs to provide for them.
“It’s really rewarding, being a mom and spending time with these two people who look like me. I love them, and they’re so funny. In terms of my career, I’m a single mom, I’m the breadwinner in the house,” she told WSJ Magazine.
“So there’s a lot of panic that comes with that, the buck stops with me, I have to earn money for them. Having kids is everything — wanting to be a good role model and wanting to produce content that doesn’t embarrass them and makes them proud is another layer to my life and a complication that I welcome,” she added.
The former “The Office” star – who has never publicly revealed the identity of her children’s father – also explained that she was in such a minority growing up that it is “inspiring” to know that her own kids will grow up in a world where diversity is more celebrated among the youth of today as she watches her children “embrace” their identities.
“When I was growing up, I was one of two Indian kids through my entire middle and high school. We didn’t live in a really Indian area. I felt so othered and that I needed to hide that identity. Now what’s really inspiring about young people and young women of color is how much they embrace their identities,” she said.
