Good American Family true story inspiration – What happened to the real Natalia Grace?

However, the fairy tale story the couple imagined for themselves never materialised, as the pair struggled to manage Natalia's behaviour and ultimately developed suspicions that she was not who she said she was.

Good American Family examines why suspicions over Natalia's age and identity arose, examining the case through multiple perspectives and accounts.

Amid concern for those affected by the real events, Pompeo affirmed her view to RadioTimes.com that Good American Family is "not exploitative at all", insisting that herself and creator Katie Robbins were "mindful" of why they were exploring this story.

"The truth is, we all believe that we do have a good enough reason, because in Hollywood, a lot of us talk about inclusivity and inclusion, and we want to tell all types of stories, and we want to represent all types of people, we want everyone to be seen and heard," said Pompeo.

"Well, very rarely do we get to see people with dwarfism tell their side of the story. We also had neurodivergent children on the show. We deal with mental health issues. We deal with the issue of abuse and neglect and parenting and what impact we have on children."

She concluded: "So, I think we had so many reasons to tell this story."

Read on for everything you need to know about the true story that inspired the series.

Good American Family true story inspiration: Who is Natalia Grace?

Natalia Grace made headlines around the world after she was adopted by Kristine and Michael Barnett, who went on to claim that she had lied about her age and was a threat to their safety.

The couple adopted Natalia, who had previously been sent back to the agency by another American family, in the spring of 2010, believing her to be approximately seven years old.

However, only two years later, they were alleging that she had used her dwarfism to disguise being an older woman – and successfully petitioned a court in Marion County, Indiana to legally re-age her. Her birth year was changed from 2003 to 1989.

Why was Natalia's age changed?

This drastic course of action stemmed from trouble at the Barnett family home, with Kristine accusing Natalia (via Daily Mail) of threatening to stab her family in their sleep, attempting to poison her coffee and trying to push her into an electric fence.

Natalia denies all accusations of attempting to harm or kill any member of the Barnett family (via People).

The Barnetts also thought that certain physical characteristics of Natalia indicated that she could be older than what they had initially believed.

After the court ruled that Natalia was legally 22, her adoptive parents sent her to live independently in an apartment in the US state, before themselves relocating to Canada.

They had paid for one year's rent and left canned food in the apartment, where Natalia resided for around one year, before she eventually told police that she had been abandoned by her guardians.

Michael and Kristine were subsequently charged with neglect of a dependent, tried on the basis of Natalia's disability and not her age – with Michael found not guilty and Kristine's charges dropped in March 2023.

Was Natalia Grace lying about her age?

No, Natalia Grace was a child at the time of her adoption, according to a DNA test taken in August 2023.

The results from medical laboratory TruDiagnostic were revealed to the public the following January as part of Discovery documentary series The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.

The findings indicated that, in August 2023, Natalia was 22 years old, which suggests that she was only a nine-year-old girl when first adopted by Kristine and Michael Barnett (per People).

What happened to Natalia Grace?

After becoming estranged from the Barnetts, Natalia Grace came into the care of two other adoptive families.

First, she lived with Antwon and Cynthia Mans, who ran a household including several other children, with the arrangement appearing to be a success initially.

In 2019, Natalia appeared with the Mans on an episode of US television series Dr Phil, where they supported her and said that she had posed no threat to their family (via BBC News).

However, in January 2025, the final season of docuseries The Curious Case of Natalia Grace prominently featured accusations of controlling and abusive behaviour by the Mans towards Natalia.

These accusations came exclusively from people claiming to be witnesses and not from Natalia herself, who has declined to comment on the matter (via People). The Mans have denied the accusations, with Cynthia calling them "sick, twisted lies" and adding: "It's so frustrating that people will just say anything to appease their agenda. It's ridiculous."

Where is Natalia Grace now?

It was revealed at the start of this year that Natalia had left the family and is now living with the DePauls, who retrieved her from near the Mans family's church in a plan devised and carried out in secret.

The departure was recorded as part of The Curious Case of Natalie Grace. See below:

What happened to Kristine and Michael Barnett?

Kristine and Michael Barnett divorced in 2014.

Michael has since appeared on Natalia's documentary series, even sitting down for a face-to-face interview in one episode, which came to an early and abrupt end.

In the short conversation that did occur, Michael described Kristine as a "monster" – partly in response to Natalia's accusation that she had been physically abusive towards her.

Kristine denied any abuse in an extended Facebook post.

It began: "Natalia was a very much loved and cared for member of my family. She was not abused by anyone in my family. Let's get straight to these allegations. Nobody ever took a belt to Natalia and the allegations that she was 'beaten' are just plain false.

"Any discipline of Natalia was very minimal and was not out of the bounds of normal parenting. If anything it was overly permissive as we all felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for Natalia and loved her while she lived with us."

It concluded: "Michael Barnett and Natalia Barnett may have the same monster but that monster is not me. That monster whether it's mental illness sociopathy or whatever it actually is may be different for each of them. But it's within their own psyche."

Michael and Natalia's reunion can be seen here:

Good American Family premieres on 19th March on Hulu in the US and 9th April on Disney+ in the UK and internationally.

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