Mindy Kaling posed without her longtime friend BJ Novak when she hit the red carpet at the 2025 Academy Awards on Sunday.
The pair dated on and off from 2004 to 2007, and although they have publicly insisted their bond is now platonic, rumors have been swirling about their equation for years.
They have appeared at multiple public events together since their split, igniting speculation that their relationship might be more than just amicable.
When she received her star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame last month, Mindy – who has not publicly named the father of any of her three children – made headlines by describing BJ as an ‘important and integral’ part of her family.
However, amid the renewed surge of conjecture, Mindy, 45, posed solo on the red carpet outside Hollywood’s famed Dolby Theatre this Oscar night.
She highlighted her slimmed-down frame in a silver gown that was designed to appear as if it were made up of hundreds of metallic leaves strung together.
Mindy Kaling posed without her longtime friend BJ Novak when she hit the red carpet at the 2025 Academy Awards on Sunday
With a raised neck and flattering fitting, the dress was perfectly calibrated to showcase her taut midriff and hourglass frame.
Sweeping her hair back into a long, low ponytail, the The Office alum highlighted her unmistakable features with makeup for her glamorous night on the town.
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She jazzed up the ensemble with jewelry by EFFY, including a set of double-hoop earrings and an ornate ring on her left hand index finger.
Mindy is mother to Katherine, seven, Spencer, four, and Anne, one, but has been assiduously private about who fathered her children.
This year’s Oscars are hosted by beloved former late-night host Conan O’Brien, who is compering the ceremony for the first time.
After his hiring was announced, the famously self-effacing comedian joked: ‘I only agreed to host so that I could get invited.’
Emilia Pérez, the Spanish-language musical starring Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofia Gascon, leads the nominations with 13 nods including best picture.
Karla is nominated for best actress for her performance as a cartel chief who pretends to die in order to transition into a woman.
Amid the renewed surge of conjecture, Mindy, 45, posed solo on the red carpet outside Hollywood’s famed Dolby Theatre this Oscar night
Her Oscars campaign was torpedoed by resurfaced old tweets in which Karla made controversial remarks on such subjects as George Floyd and Islam.
Zoe is also nominated for best supporting actress, with Jacques Audriard also in the running for best director for his work on the picture.
The Brutalist, starring Adrien Brody as a Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivor working as an architect in postwar America, is just behind Emilia Perez with 10 nods.
Adrien is nominated for best actor, as are Brady Corbet for best director, Guy Pearce for best supporting actor and Felicity Jones for best supporting actress.
Wicked is tied with The Brutalist with 10 nods, including best picture, best actress for Cynthia Erivo and best supporting actress for Ariana Grande.
Anora, Sean Baker’s rollicking Palme d’Or winner from last year’s Cannes Film Festival, is also competing for the best picture honor.
Its leading lady Mikey Madison is up for best actress for her role as a New York stripper, as is Russian actor Yura Borisov for best supporting actor.
Other best picture nominees include the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, starring Timothee Chalamet, who is in contention for best actor.
When she got a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame last month, Mindy made headlines by calling BJ an ‘important and integral’ part of her family; they are pictured at the ceremony
The drama Conclave about the election of a new Pope, the sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two and the Brazilian political film I’m Still Here are also up for best picture.
So is last year’s buzzy horror film The Substance, whose leading lady Demi Moore is nominated for best actress for the first time in her long and glamorous career.
Adrien was widely tipped to win best actor, until Timothee won the Screen Actors Guild Award last weekend in a surprise turn that has upset many predictions.
Best actress is a hazier category, with some predicting that Demi will win after the shower of acclaim she received for her comeback performance in The Substance.
Kieran Culkin seems likely to win best supporting actor for A Real Pain, written and directed by his co-star Jesse Eisenberg, given he has swept the awards circuit so far.
Zoe has also landed a number of wins on the awards circuit for best supporting actress, in a category that includes Ariana Grande as Glinda in Wicked and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown.
Anora won best picture at both the Directors Guild Of America Awards and the Producers Guild Of America Awards, both of which are regarded as bellwethers for the Oscars, particularly taken together.
Oscar nominees 2025 full list – see who received nods for this year’s Academy Awards
Best Picture
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Emilia Pérez leads this year’s Oscar nominees with 13, including for best picture, actress, supporting actress and director
Best Director
Jacques Audiard — Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker — Anora
Brady Corbet — The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat — The Substance
James Mangold — A Complete Unknown
Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo — Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón — Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison — Anora
Demi Moore — The Substance
Fernanda Torres — I’m Still Here
The Substance has been nominated for numerous Oscars, including Best Actress for Demi Moore
Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody — The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet — A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo — Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes — Conclave
Sebastian Stan — The Apprentice
The Brutalist came in second place with 10 nods, including for best picture, actor (Adrien Brody), supporting actor (Guy Peare) and supporting actress (Felicity Jones)
Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro — A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande — Wicked
Felicity Jones — The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini — Conclave
Zoe Saldaña — Emilia Pérez
Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov — Anora
Kieran Culkin — A Real Pain
Edward Norton — A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce — The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong — The Apprentice
Animated Feature Film
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Cinematography
The Brutalist — Lol Crawley
Dune: Part Two — Greig Fraser
Emilia Pérez — Paul Guilhaume
Maria — Ed Lachman
Nosferatu — Jarin Blaschke
Original Screenplay
Anora — Sean Baker
The Brutalist — Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold
A Real Pain — Jesse Eisenberg
September 5 — Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; co-Written by Alex David
The Substance — Coralie Fargeat
Adapted Screenplay
A Complete Unknown — James Mangold and Jay Cocks
Conclave — Peter Straughan
Emilia Pérez — Jacques Audiard with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi
Nickel Boys — RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
Sing Sing — Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield
Achievement in Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked
Achievement in Sound
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Original Song
El Mal – Emilia Pérez
The Journey – The Six Triple Eight
Like A Bird – Sing Sing
Mi Camino – Emilia Pérez
Never Too Late – Elton John: Never Too Late
Original Score
The Brutalist — Daniel Blumberg
Conclave — Volker Bertelmann
Emilia Pérez — Clément Ducol and Camille
Wicked — John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
The Wild Robot — Kris Bowers
Live-Action Short Film
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Animated Short Film
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!
Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane
Flow is nominated for both International Feature Film and Animated Feature Film
Documentary Short Film
Death by Numbers
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra
International Feature Film
I’m Still Here (Brazil)
The Girl With the Needle (Denmark)
Emilia Pérez (France)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany)
Flow (Latvia)
Kieran Culkin has dominated the supporting actor categories in recent weeks for Jesse Eisenberg’s drama A Real Pain
Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked
Achievement in Costume Design
A Complete Unknown — Arianne Phillips
Conclave — Lisy Christl
Gladiator II — Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
Nosferatu — Linda Muir
Wicked — Paul Tazewell
Achievement in Film Editing
Anora — Sean Baker
The Brutalist — David Jancso
Conclave — Nick Emerson
Emilia Pérez — Juliette Welfling
Wicked — Myron Kerstein
Anora is nominated for several Oscars, including best picture, actress, supporting actor, director, screenplay and editing
Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked