- Natalia Grace is the subject of the new Hulu show Good American Family
- She is 21-years-old
- Grace has dwarfism
Natalia Grace is the subject of a new Hulu drama series, Good American Family. The drama stars Imogen Faith Reid as Natalia Grace and Ellen Pompeo as Kristine Barnett. The series has everybody talking as it is based on the true story of Grace being adopted. It premiered on Huly on 19 March and has everyone talking about the true story behind the adopted young girl.
In 2011, Grace gained widespread recognition for her adoption story, which has captivated watchers in the new show. It also helps that Pompeo, who is the star of medical drama Grey’s Anatomy is starring. She began playing Meredith Grey in the drama in 2005.
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Now Pompeo is playing Grace’s adoptive mom in Good American Family. The premiere of the show has got watchers curious about its subject, Natalia Grace. Here is the story of Grace and who she is.
Who is Natalia Grace?
Natalia Grace Barnett Mans was born in 2003. She is a Ukrainian-born American who was adopted in 2010 at the age of seven by Barnett and her husband Michael Barnett (Mark Duplass).
Grace was born to Anna Volodymyrivna Gava of Mykolaiv. She was placed in an orphanage in Ukraine. From a young age, Grace was diagnosed with a rare form of dwarfism and she came to the USA as an adoptee. Strangely, she already had an adoptive family in the USA before the Barnetts in 2008.
Good American Family: the adoption
After having Grace for a year, the couple decided to return her after her strange behavior, they also thought she was older than she looked. They claimed that Barnett was an adult and they got a court order to have her date of birth changed from 2003 to 1989.
However, an August 2023 DNA test estimated that Grace was about 22 years old based on her DNA, making her nine at the time of her abandonment.
What happened to Natalia Grace?
In 2012, Grace’s age was legally changed from eight to 22. The couple moved Grace to an apartment in Indiana and moved to Canada with their children in July 2013. She was looked after by Antwon and Cynthia Mans (hence the last name) and Kristine was charged with neglect.
There was a case against the Barnetts because they abandoned Natalia. Her biological mother Anna Volodymyrivna Gava was found and spoken to. Since Gava was born in 1979, it was thought that if Grace’s birth year 1989 is correct, her mother would’ve had her at ten years old! Evidently this did not make sense, which damaged the credibility of Barnett’s case.
Hospital records confirmed Grace’s hotly debated birthdate to be 4 September 2003. However, the Barnetts continued to argue about her age, but they also said that Grace exhibited disturbing behaviors. They alleged she would bully her siblings, and stand over their beds with knives and they also claimed that they found that Natalia had full pubic hair when she was supposed to be a child. Good American Family documented some of these instances.
On the contrary, the Mans said the opposite. The case continued to get messy as Grace left the Mans’ home due to them allegedly extorting Grace for money.
The DePauls, a family who tried to adopt Natalia before the Barnetts, took her in after this. According to reports, they have hired an attorney for her to try and get her money back.
In the investigation, they were charged with neglecting a dependent and with neglecting an adult. However, Michael was found not guilty in 2022 and the charges against Kristine were dropped.
Where is Natalia Grace now?
Now Grace is living in upstate New York with Nicole and Vince DePaul, who are little people like Grace. Grace was also the star of her own HBO show, The Curious Case Of Natalia Grace. The series aimed to investigate whether Grace really was a child or an adult during the time of her adoption. The docuseries also features interviews with her adoptive parents.
