Natalia Grace: True Story Behind Ellen Pompeo’s ‘Good American Family’ (2025)

True crime-inspired TV shows often captivate audiences, and Hulu’s Good American Family is no exception. Starring Ellen Pompeo, the new drama is based on the shocking real-life case of Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian orphan with dwarfism accused of lying about her age. Here’s everything to know about the series and the real events behind it.

What is ‘Good American Family’ about?

Hulu dropped a trailer for the new series Good American Family, starring Ellen Pompeo, stating that the episodes (which will be released on March 19) are inspired by multiple stories, perspectives, threats, interpretations and accusations.

The series focuses on a Midwestern couple who adopt a young girl with a rare form of dwarfism. But things take quite the turn when the mother (played by Pompeo) has suspicions that their young adopted daughter is not a child at all.

Sounds unbelievable? This may surprise you: Good American Family is actually based on a true story. While it may be a dramatization, the series does nothing to hide that it is inspired by the real-life Natalia Grace.

The true story of Natalia Grace

In 2019, the Daily Mail ran an exclusive story about a mother in Indiana who had adopted Ukrainian-born Natalia Grace in May 2010. Grace has a rare form of dwarfism known as spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, which eventually led to discrepancies about her age.

Kristine Barnett and her now ex-husband, Michael, adopted Natalia when she was six years old. But after Natalia allegedly displayed disturbing and threatening behavior, as well as unusual milestones for a child, the then-couple started contacting medical experts to get to the truth.

According to the Daily Mail, a clinical therapist and primary care physician determined that Grace’s birth certificate with a 2003 birth date was inaccurate, and that she had been trying to dupe those around her. With paperwork from these experts, the Barnetts were able to get the county supreme court to approve a change to “correct” Grace’s age. In the legal sense, she went from age eight to 22 overnight.

Once Grace was considered an adult by the state, her adopted family no longer had any obligation to care for her. After setting her up with benefits, an ID, and even an apartment at one point, the Barnetts eventually moved to Canada with their three children and cut off all contact with her.

Though the family may have tried to move on, authorities had other plans. In 2013, the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Department in Indiana alleged that Grace was in fact a child when her adopted family abandoned her. Arrest warrants were issued and the Barnetts were charged.

‘The Curious Case of Natalia Grace’ documentary

The same year the article was released, Grace appeared on an episode of Dr. Phil. But it wasn’t until a recent documentary that she was truly able to tell her side of the story. The Curious Case of Natalia Grace was an ID docuseries that began airing in 2023 to take a closer look at the real-life events. The final season premiered in January of this year.

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She has also done multiple interviews with People to refute the claims of her former adopted parents.

“I feel like I was brainwashed by the Barnetts,” she told the magazine in a 2025 cover story. “Kristine coached me to lie about my age and say I tried to murder my parents. Why would you do that to your child?”

Grace has also said that she has anxiety and gets triggered by the traumatic events she experienced because of the allegations.

“There were a lot of people saying, ‘You’re fake. You’re a liar. You’re a pedophile.’ I’m also known for the little girl that was helpless and was beaten and starved and all that,” she also told the magazine. “That’s not who I am. But that seems to be the only thing that people know—and that’s why it hurts me a lot.”

Where is Natalia Grace now?

After the Barnett family moved away, Grace ended up getting adopted by the Mans family. But that too ended poorly when ongoing conflict prompted her to escape the home in the middle of the night. She now lives with the DePaul family who initially wanted to adopt the orphan when she was a child.

The Barnetts have mostly stayed out of the spotlight after initially sharing their story. But when Michael and Natalia spoke up in the documentary to allege mistreatment by Kristine, she made a now-deleted Facebook post to say these claims were false.

Though the Curious Case of Natalia Grace may be wrapped up, chatter about both sides of the story is sure to pick up again when Good American Family hits Hulu next month!