"There's a female writer-performer thing going on in TV right now," says Mindy Kaling, whose new Fox series, The Mindy Project, debuts September 25. The show follows a young ob-gyn with a mishap-filled love life. "My character is a really busy doctor who is kind of in a state of arrested development because she never had a chance to date." In other words, she's hilariously screwed up. "It used to be that you had to make female TV characters perfect so no one would be offended by your 'portrayal' of women," notes Kaling. "Even when I started out on The Office eight years ago, we could write our male characters funny and flawed, but not the women. And now, thankfully, it's completely different." Now, Kaling discusses (and channels) another mold-breaking female TV character she adores.

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Mindy as Marge Simpson on The Simpsons

"Growing up, I remember my parents feeling a little wary of The Simpsons. This was the late eighties, and there was a wave of articles about TV shows that were bad for America. Then we all started watching it and loved it. Marge Simpson is the one who's really funny. Her character looks so crazy, but then she's supposed to be totally demure. I think [Simpsons creator] Matt Groening is a genius for giving her that hair."

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To read the complete interview and see the entire October issue, pick up a copy of Glamour on newsstands September 11, or download the digital issue right now!

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Photo: Art Streiber