Novak has lived in his Hollywood Hills home since 2011
NEED TO KNOW
- B.J. Novak says Mindy Kaling’s daughter, Katherine, 8, recently said she wishes she lived at his home, calling it a “little house in the country”
- Novak has lived in his Hollywood Hills home since 2011 and says he prefers embracing its quirks over renovations
- Novak is godfather to Kaling’s children, Katherine and Spencer.
B.J. Novak is opening up about his sweet relationship with Mindy Kaling's daughter.
The actor, 46, spoke about his relationship with longtime friend Kaling, 46, and her daughter, Katherine 'Kit' Swati, 8, in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, calling Kaling his "best friend" and revealing that the two speak daily.
"Her 8-year-old daughter recently said she wished they lived at my house. When I asked why, she said, It's like a little house in the country,'" said Novak, who is Katherine's godfather.
Credit: Francis Specker/CBS via Getty
"I live in a Midcentury house in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of L.A. I wanted one with a view but not up a creepy road with coyotes and Charles Manson acolytes," Novak joked of his longtime retreat.
Though he's lived in the home since 2011, the Office alum says he's not a fan of home renovation. "I no longer believe in them. You're better off falling in love with your home's quirks and just enjoying them."
Novak is also godfather to Kaling's son Spencer, 5. Kaling first revealed that he was the godfather to Katherine in an interview with Good Housekeeping in 2019.
"The truth is that B.J. is so much more like family now than a platonic friend. He's the godfather to my daughter," Kaling said at the time.
"He comes over once a week. Sometimes he'll come over just to hang out with her," she added.
In an April 20 episode of Watch What Happens Live, Novak revealed that Kit gave him a nickname after a character on an app.
“Kit nicknamed me Fofo, which is based on a Duolingo for Kids character — the bear Fofo,” he said. “So, I got her a Fofo stuffed animal for her collection, and that hit the spot.”
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She has often spoken about how "important and integral" Novak is to her family. At her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in February 2025, Novak spoke about Kaling, calling her an "incredible mother of three." Kaling also has another daughter, Anne, 2.
"Mindy respects and understands [fame] in a very intuitive way because in addition to being a brilliant and wildly successful showrunner, an incredible mother of three, a deep and caring daughter and friend and mentor to so many," he said.
"You'd be on the walk of talent if they had one," he added. "You'd be on the walk of friendship. You'd be on the walk of compassionate parenthood, but let's face it, all of these would be terrible field trips, so here you are instead, very deservedly, a person who means so much to so many on the Hollywood Walk of Fame."
Kaling has chosen to keep the identity of her children's father private.
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