The story of Natalia Grace, the Ukrainian orphan with a rare dwarfism condition who was accused by her former adoptive family of pretending to be a child, continues to fascinate.
A documentary called “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter” revealed more twists and turns in Grace’s life. Meanwhile, a Hulu drama series, “Good American Family,” starring Ellen Pompeo, presents a fictionalized account of Natalia’s story.
“Who is the real Natalia? How does she really feel?” legal expert Beth Karas asks in an exclusive clip from “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter,” shared with TODAY.com.
The Investigation Discovery series concluded the first two seasons of “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace” (2023) and “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks” (2024).
Where is Natalia Grace now?
Grace is currently living in upstate New York, according to the docuseries, with a couple named Nicole and Vincent DePaul, who also have dwarfism. Grace moved in with the DePauls after a series of adoptions ended in strife.
Read all about Grace’s journey below.
Who are Michael and Kristine Barnett?
Grace’s story began in Indiana with the Barnett family.
In 2010, Grace was adopted by Michael and Kristen Barnett, who have three biological sons. As Michael explained in the docuseries, at the time of the adoption, Grace’s Ukrainian birth certificate showed her birthday as Sept. 4, 2003.
In the docuseries, Michael said the family began to suspect that Grace was an adult pretending to a child and accused her of trying to kill them. “I can’t put into words the everyday abject horror that we had to go through and live with,” Michael said in one episode.
Michael said he and Kristine started doubting Grace’s age when during bath time, they noticed she had body hair. In the same episode, Michael also said that Grace had menstruated. Natalia replied in season two that blood was the result of Kristine forcing her to use tampons when she was 7.
Four months into the adoption, Michael said in the docuseries, Grace provoked his children by hiding their toys and throwing them into the street, and urinating on his youngest son. Michael also said Grace jumped out of his car in public with the engine running in order to appear as a “poor, helpless little girl.”
In season two of the docuseries, Grace addressed the Barnett’s claim that they awoke one night to find her standing at the foot of their bed holding a knife. Impossible, argued Grace, given her poor grip and inability to see over their bed frame.
“It’s a lie,” said Grace, adding, “I’m an 8-year-old, 37-pound little girl … I never tried to murder anybody.”
Both Grace and the Barnetts have denied the allegations about them. TODAY.com reached out to attorneys for Natalia Grace and Michael and Kristine Barnett. None of them replied to a request for comment.
In the docuseries, Grace also denied accusations that she tried to poison Kristine by pouring a cleaning product into her coffee cup and stating, “I want to kill you.” Grace said Kristine had beat her and that Kristine forced Grace to spray cleaner inside her cup, for a staged scene on camera.
How old is Natalia Grace?
According to Grace, she was a child at the time of her adoption.
In 2019, NBC News obtained court documents which stated that hospital records, from two years apart, estimated her age as 8 and 11. A dentist who appeared in the docuseries said that based on 2011 X-rays of Natalia, her age at the time was about 8 or 9.
In 2012, the Barnetts changed Grace’s birth certificate to reflect a 1989 birth year, as recalled in the docuseries. In one episode, Grace took a DNA test that revealed her age at the time as approximately 22, which would mean she was a child when she was adopted.
The Barnetts rented an apartment for Grace to live in alone and moved to Canada, leaving Grace behind, according to court documents viewed by TODAY.com.
Michael and Kristine, who later divorced, were charged with felony neglect of a dependent. In 2022, Michael was found not guilty and in 2023, Kristen’s charges were dismissed.
Kristine Barnett did not respond to requests for comment from the docuseries, through she called it a “highly sensationalized show” in a since-deleted Facebook post. Kristine said on Facebook that Grace “was a very much loved and cared for member of my family” and called the discipline “very minimal” and “not out of the bounds of normal parenting.”
Kristine added, “The fact that these false allegations are occurring after a trial with evidence which was dismissed is disturbing. It’s like being assumed guilty after being proven innocent.”
Who are Natalia Grace’s next adoptive parents, Cynthia and Bishop Antwon Mans?
In June 2023, Grace was adopted by Indiana couple Antwon and Cynthia Mans, who have numerous other children. In the first season of the docuseries, Michael said the Mans met Grace when she was living alone and moved her into their home three days later.
“Being adopted, it’s an awesome thing,” said Grace in the finale episode of season 2. “Especially when you find that perfect family.”
Six months after Grace’s adoption, however, Antwon and Cynthia Mans, who now live in Tennessee, called the documentary producers.
“Something ain’t right with Natalia,” Antwon said in the recorded call that was included in the series. “This girl is tweakin’. I feel like she’s the enemy in the house … Made us look like we’re the enemy.”
Cynthia said on the call, “Natalia is stabbing her family in the back over a complete lie.”
“She’s done other things too,” said Antwon. “But this was a new low. Natalia does not have emotions for nothing but herself. We’re done. We’re done with her.”
Who are Nicole and Vincent DePaul, Natalia Grace’s current family?
New York couple Nicole and Vincent DePaul had tried to adopt Grace in 2009 and said in the docuseries that they always felt that Grace belonged in their family.
The docuseries shows how Nicole and her adult daughter went to Tennessee and met Grace outside a church, where she was inside with her adoptive parents. Excusing herself to use the bathroom, Grace sneaked outside and drove away with the DePauls.
From the start, though, Grace clashed with the DePauls, the documentary shows.
Nicole DePaul told the documentary producers she disapproved of Grace’s decision to let Cynthia Mans stay as the “payee” of her disability benefits. In the documentary, Nicole DePaul says Grace told her privately that she was abused by Antwon and Cynthia Mans, but denied those allegations to the documentary filmmakers.
TODAY.com reached out to the Mans and the DePaul families for comment. The Mans family did not respond, and Nicole DePaul declined to comment.
At the end of the docuseries, Grace is living in peace with the DePauls.
“Would I do it all over again?” said Nicole. “Hell, yeah! It was worth it!”
“I didn’t have a normal childhood — I had my childhood ripped from me,” Grace said in the series. She added, “I left the nest to explore. It feels really good to know that, yeah, I can actually do this.”
A version of this story was first published on Jan. 5, 2024.
