Mindy Kaling has posted a rare photograph of her daughter on social media, to mark her receiving the National Medal of Arts from US president Joe Biden.
The Mindy Project star was honoured alongside other authors, singers and artists at the White House on Wednesday (21 March) for their contributions to American society.
Kaling, 43, shared a series of photographs from the day, including one of her holding five-year-old Katherine’s hand as they walked up a set of stairs in the iconic building.
The actor, screenwriter and producer wore a fitted purple dress for the occasion, while her daughter, whose face was turned away from the camera, wore a white tulle dress with a ruffled skirt and sparkly silver shoes.
Other photos included in the Instagram post were one of Kaling standing next to Biden after accepting her medal and a selfie of her with singer Gladys Knight and actor Julia Louis Dreyfus, who also received honours.
Among the other public figures who received medals were designer Vera Wang, authors Amy Tan, Ann Patchett and Tara Westover, and Bruce Springsteen.
In her caption, Kaling wrote that she received a call from Dr Maria Rosario Jackson about being awarded the medal and said she was “still processing” the news.
“Yesterday, I went with my family to receive the medal at the White House. To hear the president speak about my parents, their journey to the US, my late mother’s dreams for me, and the power of comedy to make people understand each other was almost too much to take in. It didn’t feel real!” she continued.
She expressed her “heartfelt gratitude” and promised to “spend the rest of my life earning this medal because I don’t feel like I’ve earned it yet”.
“I wish my mum could have been there, but what are you gonna [sic] do,” she added. “Nothing is perfect, but yesterday was pretty close.”
Kaling has two children, Katherine and son Spencer, who she welcomed in 2020. The Office star chooses to keep their identities private and only posts photographs of them occasionally. She has also kept the identity of their father private since their birth.
Last August, she opened up about keeping their paternity private and dismissed rumours that her The Office co-star BJ Novak was their father.
Speaking to Marie Claire, Kaling said the rumours don’t “bother” her because Novak is her children’s godfather and they have a “great relationship”.
She added: “I want [my children] to be old enough to talk to me about [their paternity] and [tell me] how they want me to talk about it.
“I’m the only parent my kids have. I think I err on the side of super cautious so that there’s less things they can potentially be mad at me about down the line.”
