Total transformation! Mindy Kaling took a fashion risk at the 2023 Met Gala — and showed off her slim figure in the process.
The Mindy Project alum, 43, wore an off-white Jonathan Simkhai dress with a fitted corset bodice and shimmering detail on Monday, May 1, at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, paying homage to the night’s theme — “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.” She styled her hair in a sleek low pony, adding length to her usually short locks.
“Simkhai and his LA-based team of ateliers are perfectionists,” Kaling told Marie Claire. “I feel so confident in the gown.”
She went on to tease a second look by the same designer for an afterparty, hinting that her outfit would be “flirty and shorter, but still very on-theme.”
Kaling previously attended the “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” fundraiser in May 2022 wearing bright lilac. Her Prabal Gurung gown featured a plunging neckline and thigh-high slit with purple floral embellishments on the shoulders. She accessorized with matching silk pumps and diamond jewelry.
The Sex Lives of College Girls creator has been a frequent guest of the gala, making her debut in 2013 in a custom Lela Rose dress. She reflected on the prestigious night during a September 2022 conversation on Meghan Markle‘s “Archetypes” podcast.
“I did feel, like, fraudulent the first year I went. You don’t know the secret things you’re supposed to do, when I went I was staying downtown with a friend,” the Office alum explained. “I didn’t know you were supposed to stay uptown near the Met. You’re supposed to get in a standing van so your dress didn’t wrinkle. I was just in a cab, in my dress, sitting in the backseat of a car, you know, driving for 45 minutes.”
Kaling attended her first-ever Met with BFF B.J. Novak, telling Us Weekly at the time that she wanted to look “really friendly” on the carpet. “I just want to meet [Anna Wintour] and not have her wrinkle her nose at me because I’ve worn something that isn’t right,” the Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) author teased.
The Emmy nominee’s return to the soirée proved she’s become a pro — and showcased her weight transformation. Kaling has been candid about her wellness journey through the years, especially since welcoming daughter Katherine and son Spencer in 2017 and 2020, respectively.
“I feel like in conversations about fitness and exercise, if you’re going to be talking about someone who’s healthy and fit, you have to be a hard body with, like, a six-pack,” she told Self in May 2021. “But that’s not really how it works, and I have learned to embrace [my body] in the past six months [since having a baby].”
Nearly one year later, Kaling revealed her secret to slimming down. “I eat what I like to eat. If I do any kind of restrictive diet, it never really works for me. I just eat less of it,” she told Entertainment Tonight in April 2022. “I wish there was something more juicy or dynamic about the way that I’ve lost a little bit of weight, but that’s the way I’ve done it.”
Before strutting her stuff at Monday’s gala, Kaling rocked a white custom Vera Wang Haute Couture dress — and changed into a black version — at the 2023 Oscars in March. The risqué design featured cutouts around her midriff and long sleeves.
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Scroll down for a glimpse of Kaling’s 2023 Met Gala look:
