Moms know best, which is why it’s always a good idea to turn to mom friends when you need advice. They’ve been where you are, gotten the t-shirt, and can write the book on it! Mindy Kaling turned to an A-list mom friend before she even became a motherhood, and the advice she received influenced her decision to become a mom at age 37.
In a new interview on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, The Office alum revealed one co-star and friend who encouraged her to become a mom: Reese Witherspoon!
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Mindy Kaling and Reese Witherspoon (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images
“[Raising children alone] scared me for the longest time and then it was Reese Witherspoon — I was getting ready to shoot a movie and it got delayed for some reason and I was like, ‘Ah, well I’m going to just wait,’ and she was like, ‘Do this. Do not wait until it’s too late,’” Kaling recalled of her A Wrinkle in Time co-star, per PEOPLE. “We were in her trailer in a field in New Zealand, and she’s like, ‘If you want this, you have to do it now.’”
Aww! She’s so supportive! And like any prepared mom, the Legally Blonde star also came prepared with facts to encourage her friend. “And, she listed some people that I knew of, but not known personally — some very famous women — who waited, and then it was too late,” Kaling continued. “It’s only possible because I waited until I was 37 to have my daughter because I had disposable income, I have my nanny, [and] I have my dad who helps.”
Now, Kaling is mom to Katherine, 7, Spencer, 4, and Anne, 1, and she still leans on The Morning Show star for advice.
Mindy Kaling at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones held at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 02, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California.
Christopher Polk
“What’s so cool about Reese’s journey is that she was a mom when she was at the beginning of the height of her career, 22, 24, and it didn’t slow her down at all,” Kaling told Access in 2021. Witherspoon is mom to Ava, 25, and Deacon, 21, with ex Ryan Phillippe, and Tennessee, 12, with ex Jim Toth.
“She was able to raise two kids and be a young mom. Then she experienced it again in her 30s with her third,” The Mindy Project star continued. “So, she’s really seen it at every stage and her kids are so close to her. So, I really look to her for a lot of parenting advice.”
Moms supporting other moms is our favorite thing!
Before you go, check out these celebrities who have talked about the joys and challenges of being older parents.
