After nearly 20 years of portraying Meredith Grey on the popular show Grey’s Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo dips her feet in a twisted series titled Good American Family. The show is inspired by the true story of Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian-born American with dwarfism, who is adopted at the age of 8 by Michael and Kristine Barnett. Throughout the series the Barnetts discover inconsistencies with Natalia’s age, leading them to believe she is much older than she says.
However, many viewers have done their research on the true story and have come to the conclusion that Natalia Grace was a kid at the time. According to an article from Forbes.com, “In August of 2023, a blood test conducted by the medical lab TruDiagnostic determined that Natalia was approximately 22 at the time of the test”, making her around 9 when the Barnetts adopted her in 2010.
“So, if she really was a child, why did the Barnetts say she was not? And why is there a show based on that fact?”
Well, some critics say the claims they made about her “seemed to follow the plot of [popular horror movie] Orphan too much to be coincidental.” This could mean that the parents probably just wanted to get her out of their house, and realized using the story from Orphan as their own was the easiest way to do it. They also suggest that there is a hint of narcissism in the Barnetts, specifically Kristine.
New episodes air every Wednesday on Hulu and Disney+, so tune in to learn more about this curious case.