Mindy Kaling Is Here to Prove Fitness Is For Everyone

Most of us know her from her contributions to The Office, The Mindy Project or Sex Lives of College Girls, but in a recent interview with Byrdie, Kaling shares an important part of her personal life: fitness. For many, working out is more of a chore than a hobby, but for Kaling it serves as a “replacement for therapy.” She explains that she works out four to five times a week and always finds it “completely joyous.”

Kaling has said herself that she doesn’t appear to be the most conventional choice to be a spokesperson for a fitness brand, so when Propel asked her to be the face of their Joy of Working Out campaign, she was “so thrilled and surprised.”

Whether it’s PlateFit, Pilates or yoga, Kaling finds total enjoyment in being active. But, her relationship with fitness hasn’t always been so positive: “​​I used to look at fitness as, like, ‘It’s not successful unless you look a certain way at the end of it, and I’m never going to look a certain way.’ I used to think there was no point if I wasn’t running for 45 minutes five times a week and then doing an hour of lifting. But, the point is that I feel so much better mentally if I’m in better cardiovascular health.”

The view Kaling used to have on working out is not uncommon for women in the U.S. today; many see fitness as solely beneficial if there is visible improvement. That’s why it is so important that Kaling, who, in her own words, looks like “the average American woman,” is the face of a fitness brand. People everywhere can look at Propel’s new campaign, see Mindy as the spokesperson and feel affirmed that fitness is something that truly is for everyone.

Kaling’s commitment to wellness is not limited to working out. She opened up to Byrdie about having oily, acne-prone skin and shared her well-rounded skin-care routine for keeping her acne under control. She starts the morning with Dr. Lara Devgan Vitamin C+B+E Ferulic Serum ($145) which she says has been a “game-changer” for her skin. To keep her breakouts under control, she turns to the Joanna Vargas Daily Green Hyaluronic Acid Serum ($85) and Daily Hydrating Cream ($75). A self-proclaimed sunscreen enthusiast, she is also an avid user of SuperGoop Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40 ($36) and Live Tinted Hueguard 3-in-1 Broad Spectrum Mineral SPF 30 Primer ($32).

From promoting a healthy relationship with working out to sharing her secrets for keeping her skin in check, it is safe to say that Mindy Kaling can add “wellness role model” to her growing list of titles.