Happy Birthday, Mindy Kaling! Why the TV Star Is Our Fave Triple Threat of W's

Whether you know her as Mindy Lahiri on "The Mindy Project," Kelly Kapoor on "The Office," or as the author of her memoir, "Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me (and Other Concerns)," chances are you've heard of Mindy Kaling. Not only is she a celebrated comedic actress, but she's also a writer, producer, show runner, and all-around likeable gal. And today just happens to be her 34th birthday!

So in the interest of sharing a little love for Mindy, we've compiled a few photos of her throughout the ages, as a youngster with a bowl cut to the modern glam version of this multitalented comedy gal.

Here is Mindy in her early days, thick-rimmed round Harry Potter-esque glasses, pink overalls, and all. As Mindy told NPR in an interview, "If you've seen a photo of me from when I was a kid, I don't think anyone would have expected that going in front of the camera was something that I was going to do."

The back jacket of her memoir describes her younger self facetiously as "child star of the TLC series Androgynous Kids and Puppets, the less-successful predecessor of Toddlers and Tiaras." But through the years, Mindy has gone through multiple style transformations.

In her first episode of "The Office," Mindy's character, Kelly Kapoor, dressed down in a librarian-like, high-collared shirt with pearl earrings, but as the show went on, she looked more and more fabulous up until the very last episode that premiered this spring!

But Mindy is quick to tell her younger fans that there are more important things than being popular and fashionable in high school. "I just want ambitious teenagers to know it is totally fine to be quiet, observant kids," she wisely notes in her memoir. "Besides being a delight to your parents, you will find you have plenty of time later to catch up."

On "The Mindy Project," she plays an intelligent and thoughtful, as well as fun-loving and rom-com-obsessed ob-gyn. And though Dr. Mindy Lahiri is usually all about fashion and frivolity during her free time, in the first-season finale, Mindy cut her hair to show boyfriend Casey that she was ready to go with him on a volunteer trip to Haiti. Looks oddly similar to the look shared by her younger self, right? Except way more chic.

The fact is, on this, her 34th birthday, Mindy is more gorgeous than ever, especially when it comes to epitomizing the term "fashionista." Still, she is humble about her own style successes.

In her book, she wrote about a compliment fans often paid her after seeing the second season of "The Office." "I initially thought you were ugly," Mindy recounted, "but then you walked closer to me and I realized you were pretty."

You don't have to walk close to us to prove you're pretty, Mindy. You've been gorgeous all along. Happy Birthday, girl. Hope you're dressed for the special occasion!

Check out Mindy's red carpet looks through the years: