Mindy Kaling is proving once again that moms really can do it all.
In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, the Cambridge native got candid about juggling life as a single mom with her career as an actress and Hollywood executive. While raising her two children is “really rewarding,” Kaling admitted that being the sole “breadwinner in the house” can be stressful at times.
“So there’s a lot of panic that comes with that, the buck stops with me, I have to earn money for them,” Kaling told WSJ. “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.”
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“The Mindy Project” and “The Office” star has been making waves in recent years thanks to her production company Kaling International, which created streaming hits “Never Have I Ever” for Netflix and “The Sex Lives of College Girls” for Max. Kaling is now working an untitled project for Netflix that’s based on the life of Lakers owner Jeanie Buss.
The series is set to star Kate Hudson as Buss, with Brenda Song, Scott MacArthur, and Drew Tarver also attached to the project. Kaling revealed that she became a fan of the NBA because of her father, a passionate Boston sports fan.
“I grew up in Boston, and my dad in particular was such a Celtics fan,” Kaling said. “The fact the Lakers are a team run by a woman and what she’s had to experience with her family, with the league, it’s so interesting.”
Kaling wrapped the WSJ interview by revealing the impactful piece of advice that Oprah Winfrey gave her during their time filming 2018′s “A Wrinkle in Time.”
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“Oprah Winfrey once told me when we were shooting in New Zealand that the best piece of advice she got was from Maya Angelou,” Kaling said. “ ‘Do the best you can, until you know better. And when you know better, do better.’ ”
Matt Juul can be reached at matthew.juul@globe.com.