‘Good American Family’: 33 year old woman pretends to be 16

The new series from Hulu starring Ellen Pompeo, Good American Family, is based on the real life tale of Natalia Grace.

The synopsis for the series reads, “As they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, mystery emerges around her age and background, and they slowly start to suspect she may not be who she says she is. As they defend their family from the daughter they’ve grown to believe is a threat, she fights her own battle to confront her past and what her future holds, in a showdown that ultimately plays out in the tabloids and the courtroom.”

Natalia is a Ukrainian woman who was diagnosed with a form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SEDc). After being adopted by a family in New Hampshire in 2008, she was relisted for adoption in 2010.

She then ended up getting adopted in the same year by Indiana couple Kristine Elizabeth Barnett, 45, and Michael Barnett, 43. The couple believed her to be 6 to 7 years old when they adopted her.

Multiple occurrences led the family to believe she was older than she claimed, including instances where Kristine noticed full hair in Natalia’s private parts, and catching her hiding her period.

Michael also claimed that she would urinate on and try to smear her waste on her 6 year old sibling, Ethan. Alongside hiding knives in her room, the most harrowing incident was of Natalia threatening to kill the family while they were asleep.

In her defense, she claimed that her adoptive mother had been physically abusive and would give her triple the recommended dose of her medication. She also insisted that Kristine had told her to lie about her age and say that she was going to murder them.

Based on “age estimates provided by a primary care physician and social worker,” the family was able to legally have her age changed to 22.

After having left her in an apartment following "obtaining federal disability benefits and supportive services to help her transition to life as an adult”, the family moved away. However, Natalia claimed that she was unable to get by and could not phone for help.

Having been charged with neglect of a dependent, Michael was found not guilty following a 5 year investigation. In 2023, all charges against Kirsten were dismissed as well. 

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