Mindy Kaling thinks Hollywood directors previously felt under pressure to prove they "weren't racist".

Mindy Kaling

Mindy Kaling

The 39-year-old actress - who starred alongside the likes of Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway and Rihanna in 2018's 'Ocean's 8' - has claimed that filmmakers feared they would be accused of racism if they worked with an all-white cast.

She told Variety: "There used to be a sense of obligation - of being shamed into having a token person of colour to prove that you weren't racist.

"Now people are realising it's actually valuable to have different perspectives. It's actually a better way to make money and to reach more people."

Mindy - who has a 13-month-old daughter called Katherine - admitted she's never been happier than she currently is.

However, she also confessed that her original life plan - which included marrying her dream partner - hasn't gone to script.

The unmarried star shared: "I was obsessed with marriage.

"It wasn't the romance of it. I was obsessed with the wedding and what my wedding dress would look like and how much money my husband would make and where we would live and what our house would look like.

"I never thought that the life I have now is what my life would be like and that I'd be so happy, but I've never done anything in order -- or at least the right order."

Meanwhile, Mindy previously admitted she feels "lucky" to be an older mother because she can balance her personal and professional lives.

She said: "I'm really lucky because I get to create my own job opportunities. Because I do that, I can fit my daughter into my job.

"It's a luxury most American women don't have. It's one of the nice things of having had my baby a little bit later in my career. I can be like, 'Hey, I want a little area that I can have my daughter play because I want to check up on her at work.'

"That is probably the biggest perk of my life: to involve my daughter so much in my career."