Before you read any further, just be ready to be up all night, because this story is pure nightmare fuel. The bizarre story of Natalia Grace — a Ukrainian-born American adoptee who was accused of secretly being an adult by her adoptive parents — is getting the TV treatment in the upcoming Hulu drama series, Good American Family, starring Ellen Pompeo. Natalia Grace was adopted in 2010 as a 7-year-old child… or as an adult pretending to be a child, depending on who you ask. The Barnetts adopted Natalia — who has a rare form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita — and quickly became convinced she was a sociopathic adult who was trying to hurt her new parents and their three other children. In the docuseries The Mysterious Case of Natalia Grace, Michael Barnett said, “She tried to poison and kill my wife.” He also told Good Morning America doctors treating Natalia Grace, “this person is a sociopath. This person is a con artist. You are all in danger.” Like I said, it’s the stuff of nightmares, or the plot of the movie Orphan.
In 2012, the Barnetts successfully had Natalia Grace’s age legally changed to 22 years old and they moved her into her own apartment. The Barnetts were later charged with neglect, although Michael was found not guilty and the charges were dropped against his wife Kristine.
Kristine is who Ellen Pompeo is playing in Good American Family, which is truly one of the most ironic TV show titles of all time, because these people are so clearly so far from your typical “ good American” family. Before you get ready to binge this series, let’s go over everything you need to know about the real people behind it. Starting with: Where is Natalia Grace today?
Where is Natalia Grace Today?
After the Barnetts sent Natalia Grace to live on her own, another family took her in. In 2013, Cynthia and Antwon Mans invited Natalia Grace to live with them and their 10 children, and officially adopted her in 2023. Also, after a bunch of DNA tests and doctors’ visits, they helped to have her legal birth year restored to 2003. Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly a happily ever after for Natalia Grace.
Tensions arose between the Mans family and Natalia Grace over her independence as a young adult, and several witnesses claimed to have seen the Manses assault Natalia Grace. Finally, enough was enough and Natalia Grace (with the help of her U.K.-based boyfriend Neil) reached out to her friends Nicole and Vince DePaul, who once tried to adopt her but were turned down. According to People, Natalia Grace ran away with the DePauls in the middle of the night, in a dramatic rescue scene straight out of a movie.
Now, Natalia Grace lives with the DePauls — who also have dwarfism — at their home in upstate New York. She’s been diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder, anxiety, ADHD, and PTSD, but she’s trying her best to live a normal life. She’s currently studying for her GED and hopes to one day become a teacher.
“I’m a girl who loves kids and wants to get married and have children,” she told People. “But one of my biggest things is not making promises I can’t keep. I’ve had too many promises that have been broken. I’m just ready to move on.”
With those plans to move on, we can probably assume Natalia Grace won’t be tuning in to watch Good American Family, but I know I will.
