Natalia Grace

{{Short description|Ukrainian-born American adoptee with dwarfism (born 2003)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Natalia Grace

| image = Natalia Grace HBO Max.jpg

| caption = Natalia Grace in the HBO Max series The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, filmed c. 2024

| birth_name = Natalia Vadymivna Gava ({{langx|uk|Наталія Вадимівна Гава}})

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2003|09|04}}

| birth_place = Mykolaiv, Ukraine

| parents = Vadim and Anna Volodymyrivna Gava

| relatives = Kristine and Michael Barnett

| height = {{convert|3|ft|0|in|cm}}

}}

Natalyah Grace Renee Mans (born Natalia "Natasha" Vadymivna Gava ({{langx|uk|Наталія «Наташа» Вадимівна Гава}}), September 4, 2003; formerly Natalia Lourdes Ciccone and Natalia Grace Barnett) is a Ukrainian-born American with dwarfism, who was adopted by an American family at the age of seven in 2010, but was allegedly abandoned by them one year later.

Barnett's adoptive parents claimed that she was an adult, and, in 2011, they successfully sought a court order legally changing her birth year from 2003 to 1989.{{Cite news |last=James |first=Faye |date=January 3, 2024 |title=Natalia Grace's real age revealed by DNA test |url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/510512/natalia-graces-real-age-revealed-by-dna-test/ |work=Hello!}} Via an August 2023 DNA test, a healthcare testing company estimated that Natalia was about twenty-two years old at the time of the test,{{efn|Age can be estimated from a DNA test by using the 'Epigenetic clock' as a measure of DNA methylation over time.}} supporting the contention that she was eight years old when her adoptive parents allegedly abandoned her in an apartment in 2011.{{Cite news |last=Nelson |first=Elise |date=January 2, 2024 |title=Natalia Grace Barnett's DNA Test Confirms Her Real Age: 'This Proves I Was Not Lying' |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/natalia-grace-barnett-dna-test-125230631.html |work=In Touch Weekly}}{{Cite news |last1=Haasch |first1=Palmer |last2=Torres |first2=Libby |date=January 4, 2024 |title=The 7 most shocking accusations made in 'The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/natalia-grace-dna-test-age-parents-abuse-allegations-shocking-accusations-2024-1#natalia-takes-a-dna-test-which-appears-to-reveal-her-biological-age-is-close-to-22-2 |work=Business Insider}} Her date of birth has since been legally restored to her 2003 birth year.{{Cite web |last=Aizin |first=Rebecca |date=7 January 2025 |title=Where Are Natalia Grace's Former Adoptive Parents Now? What We Know About the Barnett and Mans Families' Lives Today |url=https://people.com/where-are-natalia-grace-former-adoptive-parents-now-8769889 |access-date=14 February 2025 |website=People.com |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Victorian |first=Brande |date=6 January 2025 |title='Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter' Zeroes In on Allegations Around Natalia's Adoptive Family |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/the-curious-case-of-natalia-grace-the-final-chapter-mans-family-1236099353/ |access-date=14 February 2025 |work=The Hollywood Reporter}} The Barnetts were later charged with neglect; Michael was acquitted in 2022, and charges against Kristine were dismissed in 2023.{{Cite web |last=Ahlgrim |first=Palmer Haasch, Callie |title=What happened between Natalia Grace and the Mans family? She no longer lives with her second set of adoptive parents |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/natalia-speaks-ending-explained-natalia-grace-new-parents-antwon-cynthia-mans-2024-1?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}

Barnett is the subject of two television series, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, a docuseries, and the Hulu dramatization Good American Family.{{Cite news |last=Strause |first=Jackie |date=27 January 2025 |title=Ellen Pompeo's Natalia Grace-Inspired Hulu Series Gets First Look, Release Date |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ellen-pompeo-natalia-grace-hulu-show-release-1236119364/ |access-date=14 February 2025 |work=The Hollywood Reporter}}

Early life and adoption

Natalia Grace was born on September 4, 2003, as Natalia Vadymivna Gava ({{langx|uk|Наталія Вадимівна Гава}}; named by social services Natasha ({{langx|uk|Наташа}})){{cite episode |people=Conway, Christian; Conway, Jackson (directors) |date=January 2, 2024 |title=Houses of Horror |series=The Curious Case of Natalia Grace |quote=Natalia Grace: I've been Natasha Gava and then it was Natalia Ciccone and then it was Natalia Barnett and now it'll be Natalyah Mans. [Text on screen: Наталія Лурдес; Natalia Lourdes Ciccone; Natalia Grace Barnett]}}{{cite news |last=Martorano |first=Vinny |date=May 31, 2023 |title=Tippecanoe County Prosecutors Office Releases Evidence: Natalia Grace Barnett Case |url=https://www.wlfi.com/news/tippecanoe-county-prosecutors-office-releases-evidence-natalia-grace-barnett-case/article_59dd49a2-ff3e-11ed-b398-c3946d8e18f5.html |website=WLFI-TV |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531030547/https://www.wlfi.com/news/tippecanoe-county-prosecutors-office-releases-evidence-natalia-grace-barnett-case/article_59dd49a2-ff3e-11ed-b398-c3946d8e18f5.html |archive-date=May 31, 2023 |quote=BIRTH CERTIFICATE: Citizen Gava Natalia Vadymivna was born as of 04.09.2003 Refusal of maternal rights I, Gava Anna Vladimirovna 20.04.1979 DOB, citizen of Ukraine, residing at : Nikaloaev, [...] Had gave birth to a child (girl) in the city hospital # 1 in Nikolaev, [...] Second child, I refuse of maternal rights, because this child has congenital defects. I'm not married. Have a child of 4 years old, and raising child alone, have not enough money to raise another child.}} in Ukraine to Vadim "Vadik" Gava ({{langx|uk|Вадим «Вадик» Гава}}) and Anna Volodymyrivna Gava ({{langx|uk|Анна Володимирівна Гава}}) of Mykolaiv.{{Cite news |last=Vargas |first=Ramon Antonio |date=2023-06-04 |title=Six-year-old orphan or 'con artist' adult? Revisiting the strange story of Natalia Grace |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/04/natalia-grace-docuseries-hbo-discovery-ukrainian-orphan-con-artist |access-date=2023-06-23 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |last=Wilkins |first=Ron |date=August 27, 2020 |title=Prosecutors prepared to call Natalia Barnett's birth mother to prove Ukrainian orphan's age in neglect case |url=https://www.jconline.com/story/news/crime/2020/08/27/prosecutors-prepared-call-natalia-barnetts-birth-mother-prove-ukrainian-orphans-age-neglect-case/3412866001/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Journal and Courier |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Minutaglio |first=Rose |date=2019-10-09 |title=Inside the Real-Life 'Orphan' Case: Parenting Author Kristine Barnett Claims Her Adopted Teen Is Actually a Disturbed Adult |url=https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a29205646/kristine-barnett-natalia-grace-adoption/ |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=ELLE |language=en-US}} Natalia was diagnosed with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a rare form of dwarfism. Her mother, identified as born on April 20, 1979, placed her in an orphanage in Ukraine after her birth, with the recorded rationale of the "child hav[ing] congenital defects" and, being unmarried with a 4-year-old, "hav[ing] not enough money to raise another child".

In 2008, she was adopted as Natalia Lourdes Ciccone by Dyan and Gary Ciccone of New Hampshire. The Ciccones placed her for adoption again in 2010, for what they alleged was her "disruptive behavior".{{cite news |title=Where Are Natalia Grace's Former Adoptive Parents Now? |author=Rebecca Aizin |work=People Magazine |publisher=Dotdash Meredith |url=https://people.com/where-are-natalia-grace-former-adoptive-parents-now-8769889 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250406023221/https://people.com/where-are-natalia-grace-former-adoptive-parents-now-8769889 |archive-date=2025-04-06}} She was adopted by Kristine and Michael Barnett in the spring of 2010, taking the legal name "Natalia Grace Barnett".{{Cite web |last=Flynn |first=Sheila |date=2023-06-05 |title=Six-year-old saved by adoption or murderous adult imposter: Who is Natalia Grace? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/natalia-grace-michael-burnett-adopted-girl-b2351428.html |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=The Independent |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=October 27, 2022 |title=Natalia Barnett testifies against adoptive father in trial alleging neglect |url=https://www.jconline.com/story/news/crime/2022/10/25/natalia-and-kristine-barnett-allegedly-had-a-caustic-relationship/69581569007/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Journal and Courier |language=en-US}}

Alleged abandonment

In 2012, the Barnetts successfully petitioned the Marion County, Indiana court to change Natalia's Ukrainian birth records to indicate a 1989 birth date, which legally changed her age from eight to twenty-two. In July 2013, the Barnetts moved Natalia to an apartment in Westfield, Indiana, and later Lafayette, Indiana. Leaving Natalia alone in the Lafayette apartment, the Barnetts then moved along with their biological children to Ontario, Canada so that their oldest son could begin graduate studies at the University of Waterloo and the Perimeter Institute.

Shortly after being left alone in the Lafayette apartment, Natalia was invited to live with couple Antwon Corry Mans, a bishop, and Cynthia Mary Renee Mans, who noticed that Natalia struggled to live on her own.{{Cite news |last=Nelson |first=Elise |date=7 June 2023 |title=Antwon and Cynthia Mans with Natalia Grace Barnett on Dr. Phil.Dr. Phil/YouTube They Are Family! Who Are Natalia Grace Barnett's New Adoptive Parents, Antwon and Cynthia Mans? |url=https://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/antwon-cynthia-mans-natalia-grace-adoptive-parents/ |access-date=9 August 2023 |publisher=In Touch Weekly}}{{cite episode |people=Conway, Christian; Conway, Jackson (directors) |date=January 3, 2024 |title=One Door Closes |series=The Curious Case of Natalia Grace |quote=And that the petition should be granted that the adult's name should be changed to Natalyah Grace Renee Mans. And that the petitioners Antwon Corry Mans and Cynthia Mary Renee Mans from this day forward shall be known as her parents. [Adoption paper on screen: 'Petitioners and Natalia wish to change Natalia's name to Natalyah Grace Renee Mans, adoptee and heir-at-law of adoptive parents, Antwon Corry Mans and Cynthia Mary Renee Mans [...]']}} In 2016, they filed to become Natalia's legal guardians, describing her as an "alleged incapacitated person" who was 13 or 14 years old, changing her name to Natalyah Grace Renee Mans.{{cite news |last=Haasch |first=Palmer |date=January 16, 2024 |title=Natalia Grace's new adoptive mother says it's been 'tough' since docuseries' bombshell ending, but she and Natalia are 'fine' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/natalia-grace-cynthia-mans-relationship-update-finale-2024-1 |work=Business Insider |quote=But according to Cynthia Mans, she and her adopted daughter, who currently appears to be going by the name Natalyah Mans, are alright.}} The Barnetts were charged with neglect of a dependent but Michael was later found not guilty.{{Cite web |last=Janes |first=DeAnna |date=2019-11-04 |title=The Girl Whose Adoptive Parents Claim She's an Adult Sociopath Breaks Her Silence |url=https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a29516065/natalia-grace-barnett-orphan-parents/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Oprah Magazine |language=en-US}}

The prosecutors in the neglect case against the Barnetts allegedly were able to locate Natalia's birth mother Anna Gava in Ukraine. DNA testing allegedly confirmed Gava as Natalia's biological mother, however this was never independently verified{{cite web | url=https://www.marknicholsonlaw.com/demystify-misinformation-with-faqs-about-natalia-grace | title=Demystify Misinformation with FAQs About Natalia Grace | date=19 June 2023 }}. If Natalia's court-assigned birth date of 1989 were correct, Gava would have given birth to Natalia at ten years of age. The prosecutors allegedly also obtained birth and hospital records from Ukraine which support Natalia's original September 4, 2003, birth date and were barred from presenting the evidence that Natalia was a minor child born in 2003 when she was left to live alone in an apartment, and the neglect case was tried based on Natalia's disability, not her age.{{Cite news |last=Wilkens |first=Ron |date=27 August 2020 |title=Prosecutors prepared to call Natalia Barnett's birth mother to prove Ukrainian orphan's age in neglect case |url=https://www.jconline.com/story/news/crime/2020/08/27/prosecutors-prepared-call-natalia-barnetts-birth-mother-prove-ukrainian-orphans-age-neglect-case/3412866001/ |access-date=28 August 2023}}{{Cite news |last=Merinuk |first=Madeline |date=8 June 2023 |title=Who is Natalia Grace's biological mother? |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/natalia-graces-biological-mother-164146739.html |access-date=28 August 2023 |publisher=Woman & Home – Yahoo News}}{{Cite news |last=Ridley |first=Jane |date=28 May 2023 |title=A family thought they were adopting a 6-year-old girl. Now they claim she's an adult con artist. |url=https://www.insider.com/docuseries-examines-complex-case-of-ukraine-orphan-may-be-adult-2023-5 |access-date=28 August 2023 |publisher=Insider}}

Cynthia Mans, who took Natalia in after discovering her abandoned in the Lafayette apartment, said she believed that Kristine Barnett was inspired to legally change Natalia's age by the 2009 film Orphan. The Barnetts claimed that Natalia was lying about her age and also exhibited sociopathic behavior which is similar to the plot of that film. The Manses said that Natalia has not exhibited sociopathic behavior while living in their home.

Since then, Natalia Grace has left the Mans' home and moved in with the DePaul family, who had originally attempted to adopt Natalia prior to her adoption by the Barnetts. After allegations that the Mans family extorted Natalia for money, the DePauls have helped her obtain an attorney to try to recoup her funds.{{Cite news |title=Ukrainian Orphan – Child or Adult Sociopath – The Exclusive Interview |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNioz9JmQW4&t=1888s |access-date=9 August 2023 |publisher=Dr. Phil S18E44}}{{Cite news |date=2019-11-08 |title=Natalia Grace Barnett: 'I'm 16, not a 33-year-old scam artist' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-50319910 |access-date=2023-06-23 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=May 26, 2023 |title=How old is Natalia Grace? Prosecutors reveal unheard |url=https://www.jconline.com/story/news/crime/2023/05/26/unheard-evidence-revealed-by-prosecutors-in-barnett-abuse-case/70256184007/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Journal and Courier}}

Media coverage

In 2019, Natalia appeared on an episode of Dr. Phil. Her life is the subject of the 2023 Investigation Discovery series The Curious Case of Natalia Grace (re-titled to The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks for season 2). Season 3 premiered January 7, 2025, on Max. Her story is the basis of the Hulu TV series Good American Family,{{Cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=2022-08-03 |title=Ellen Pompeo To Star In & EP Orphan-Adoption Limited Series Greenlighted By Hulu |url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/ellen-pompeo-star-ep-orphan-limited-series-hulu-1235055614/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Eliza |date=2023-05-04 |title=The Creepy True Story Behind Ellen Pompeo's 'Orphan' Series |url=https://parade.com/tv/ellen-pompeo-orphan-hulu-series |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Parade |language=en}} in which she is played by Imogen Faith Reid.