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Mindy Kaling Reveals She Named Her Kids After This Legendary Cinematic Couple

Just weeks after surprising fans with the news of her second child, Mindy Kaling is now spilling new details about the inspiration behind her children's names.

The actress, who's a mom to Katherine (3) and Spencer (3 months), recently opened up about the meaning behind her kids' names in an interview with People, and it turns out that she got her inspiration from one of the most iconic cinematic couples in Hollywood.

Kaling revealed that the duo's names are actually an homage to the "incredible" Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, two legendary actors who are known for their on- and off-screen romance. While discussing the process of choosing names, the star confessed that she wanted to steer clear of names that sounded very unique.

She said, "I don't trust my own judgment with those kinds of names. If I name my son River, that connotes a certain kind of person who is very go with the flow, artsy. But what if he's not like that at all? Will he be furious with me?"

She continued, "I just tried to pick classic names that felt like they would have to work really hard to get mad at me about later." Fair enough.

When the Never Have I Ever creator sat down for an exclusive interview with PureWow in October, she discussed how she's been balancing her work with motherhood during the quarantine. She told us, “At the beginning it was a little maddening because—before I had my son seven weeks ago—my daughter was supposed to start preschool. I have a pretty busy schedule with two different shows, and I’m not married. So, we both had this feeling—my daughter and I—where we were just instantly confronted with all this extra time together.”

She continued, "I’ve just gotten to know [Katherine's] personality so much better than I did before. [It’s] been really such a blessing. A nice silver lining. She’s such a funny kid, and she’s got to know me better. With my son, we’re just a little clan. It’s him, me and my daughter. And we’re just like staring at each other all day long.”

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nakeisha campbell bio

Associate Editor, News and Entertainment

Nakeisha has been interviewing celebrities and covering all things entertainment for over 8 years, but she has also written on a wide range of topics, like career...