Those tuning into Good American Family want to know more about adopted orphan from Ukraine, Natalia Grace, whose adoptive family eventually questioned everything they knew about her. We reveal what we know about her real age and where she is now.
Streaming on Hulu and Disney+ from March 19, Good American Family is based on the real story of Natalia Grace. An orphan from the Ukraine believed to have dwarfism, Natalia was adopted by Americans Kristine and Michael Barnett.
However, the Barnetts began to question the assumption that Natalia really was a child. They alleged she was an adult posing as a child and had legally changed her age. Good American Family looks at the growing scrutiny that ensued over the adopted child's real age and identity.
With viewer interest in the story piqued by the series, questions have been asked about what Natalia is up to now - and how old is she, really? Here's what we know...
How old is Natalia Grace in 2025?
A DNA test by medical lab TruDiagnostic revealed that Natalia is approximately 22 years old as of now. This new information suggests she was just nine years old when she was adopted by the Barnetts in 2010.
In 2019, Natalia Grace spoke with Dr. Phil in an all-encompassing interview after the Barnett family had charges pressed against them for "neglecting" Natalia after some allegedly disturbing things happened in their home.
For example, the Barnetts reported there was a point when Natalia had started throwing herself out of the car, attempting to poison the mom with bleach, placing clear thumbtacks on the stairs, and even standing at the foot of the parent's bed with a knife.
Although her birth certificate at the time of adoption said she was six, they believed her to actually be older. The Barnetts legally requested an age change for Natalia in 2012 when her birth certificate stated that she was 8 years old.
"Nobody knows quite what age, but she has not grown in four years, so the judge came up with his own little formula: ‘Well, you stop growing at 18 – if she hasn’t grown in four years then she’s at least 18 when she entered their lives. And I’m gonna add four years," Michael Barnett, Natalia's previous adoptive father, says in the documentary.
Thus, the judge ruled her to be 22 years old in 2012, which would have made her 33 years old now - if that were true.
However, four years ago during an interview with Dr. Phil, he asked her the golden question directly: "How old are you?"
"Sixteen," Natalia replied at the time. Turns out, she wasn't too far off.
Because Natalia has spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a rare form of dwarfism, no one was truly aware of her age - but now, with medical records to show for it, Natalia is speaking up for herself.
"This is so big. Because literally, this has been 13 years of just two people lying their butts off. They ruined a kid’s life. They painted [me] as some big monster," Natalia said.
Where are Natalia Grace's adoptive parents, the Barnetts, now?
In 2013, Michael, Kristine, and their sons moved to Canada and left Natalia in America, where they placed her in a rental apartment in Lafayette, Indiana. They paid her rent for a few months, and left her with food stamps.
Michael and Kristine Barnett were then charged in September 2019 with several counts of neglect. Michael specifically was charged with neglect of a dependent, neglect of a dependent causing bodily injury, neglect of a dependent causing serious bodily injury, and conspiracy to neglect a dependent.
All counts against Michael were dismissed in February 2022, and Kristine's charges were dropped by March 2023.
According to People, Michael filed for divorce from Kristine in February 2014, and Kristine's last known address was Bradenton, Florida.
Both Kristine and Michael stay out of the spotlight, although Michael joined Natalia in the first season of her docuseries, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks in January 2024.
Who are Natalia Grace's new adoptive parents, Antwon and Cynthia Mans, and is she still living with them?
The third season of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, which aired in January 2025, revealed Natalia fell out with the Mans family. Finding them too strict, Natalia moved out of their home and according to Time, now lives with Nicole and Vincent DePaul - the family who first tried to adopt her in 2009.
The publication explains the DePaul's did initially experience difficulties following Natalia’s arrival, but by January this year asserted there hadn't been any violence and things had settled down.
Natalia said, "I want people to remember me as someone who overcame what they went through…and grew," suggesting she's studying for the GED in the hope of becoming a school teacher.
Did Natalia Grace kill anyone?
Although Natalia reportedly attempted to harm her family members, and even directly threatened to kill them, says the Barnetts, there is no evidence that Natalia has ever actually killed anyone.
