Since news broke of her pregnancy, Mindy Kaling has kept mum on the topic, even relying on the legendary Oprah Winfrey (her costar in next year’s A Wrinkle in Time movie) to make the confirmation. Now the actress is opening up for the first time about her real-life upcoming role as a mother—and, as usual, she doesn’t disappoint in the humor department. When Willie Geist of the Today show asks what kind of parent she intends to be, Mindy quips: “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.” (Dying.)
The interview, which airs September 10, also allows Mindy to reveal that she’s “really excited” for the next chapter, despite the experience being unknown to her. “I have a lot of control over a lot of aspects of my life, and this is one where I’m like, ‘Okay, it’s out of my hands,’ which is kind of a fun feeling,” she says. The 38-year-old has a clear heroine from whom she hopes to draw inspiration: her late mother. “My mom was incredibly fierce and so devoted to us, just loved us and really wanted us to be happy no matter what we did,” she shares. “My career choice was not something that she was familiar with, and she was just so supportive of that. And if I could give that to my child, just that open-mindedness, I’d be so happy.”
