I can’t stop thinking about the fact that Mindy Kaling probably named her baby after “You’ve Got Mail”
Two very beautiful and precious things came into our lives on December 15th. One of them was, of course, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The other was, if you can believe it, even cuter: Mindy Kaling gave birth to a baby GIRL.
The news of this new bundle of joy broke earlier this week, and the internet has been celebrating as if we’re all best friends with Mindy (…but aren’t we?), and also like we’ve all been named godmother of her daughter. We will protect this little one with our own lives, because even though none of us have met her, we love her so much. And the baby’s name? Katherine Kaling.
When I first heard that name, I was like “omg, I love alliteration.” The more I started thinking about it, the more I began to feel like I had heard that name somewhere before. It took me a few minutes to realize that Katherine Kaling sounds a lot like Kathleen Kelly. But where does the name Kathleen Kelly come from?
Only one of the best romantic comedies of all time — and also one of Mindy Kaling’s favorite movies, You’ve Got Mail. Meg Ryan plays Kathleen Kelly in You’ve got Mail.
Kaling does not hide how much she loves rom-coms, and that she loves You’ve Got Mail the MOST. Talking with Vulture all the way back in 2010, she explained:
"But I love You You’ve Got Mail. [The first time I watched it I was 18 and] I was very intimidated by New York and I didn’t know it very well, and this movie really helped me, it made me fall in love with the city — it’s such a love letter to New York. I went to all the places in the film. And I decided that I love the Upper West Side. I remember watching it during Christmas and thinking, 'I wonder if I’ll ever have a really cute boyfriend like Tom Hanks, and sing carols around a piano?'"
In another quote, Kaling also explains her deeper love for the character of Kathleen Kelly:
"[Meg] Ryan’s character has so much to be sad about. Her bookstore — the great love of her life — goes out of business. Her mother, who is her best friend, is dead. She’s with a man she doesn’t love. And yet she’s so upbeat."
Just drawing some quick allusions between this — on the same day Mindy Project was picked up to series, Kaling’s own mother passed away. Earlier this year, Kaling’s show ended. She’s lost two great loves of her life, yet she is strong, and happy, and now has a baby to share herself with. How could she NOT want to give a subtle nod to this movie and character?
Even if this isn’t exactly the reasoning Kaling was going with when she named her daughter, it’s still a beautiful thing to think about. Also a good thing You’ve Got Mail is rated PG, which means Mindy Kaling can watch it with Katherine Kaling sooner, rather than later.
