Film About Natalia Grace Barnett UPDATED

“The stranger-than-fiction story of Ukranian-born Natalia Grace Barnett and her U.S. adoptive parents, who claimed that she was an adult “sociopath” pretending to be a child, is the inspiration for an eight-episode Hulu limited series starring and executive produced by Ellen Pompeo.

As she takes on the Untitled Orphan Project, Grey’s Anatomy star Pompeo will be scaling back her on-screen presence on the ABC medical drama next season to eight episodes. She will remain a narrator and executive producer on the show.

The shocking case, which has drawn parallels to the 2009 horror movie Orphan, made national headlines in September 2019 when Kristine Barnett and her ex-husband Michael Barnett were charged with neglect for allegedly abandoning their adopted daughter Natalia, who has a rare form of dwarfism, in 2013 when she was 9. (After putting her up in an apartment, they had moved to Canada.) The parents have claimed that Natalia, whom they adopted when they thought she was 6, is in fact a mentally disturbed adult woman who threatened their lives. Most of the charges against the Barnetts eventually were dismissed; Natalia has denied the accusations that she is a grownup con artist.

The limited series was created and written by Katie Robbins (The Affair). Here is the logline: Inspired by the true story of the Midwestern couple who adopts what they believe is a little girl with dwarfism. As they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, they slowly start to believe she may not be who she says she is. As they question her story, they’re confronted with hard questions of their own about the lengths they’re willing to go to defend themselves, falling into a battle that’s fought in the tabloids, the courtroom, and ultimately their marriage.

Pompeo will play the mother.

The project has been in the works at Hulu for a year and a half. Mike Epps and his managers Dan Spilo and Niles Kirchner had originally obtained the rights to Michael Barnett’s story before taking the idea to the Disney-controlled streamer. Hulu optioned the rights to Michael Barnett in January 2021, and Robbins was brought in to write the script. Pompeo came on board earlier this summer.”

Ellen Pompeo To Star In & EP Orphan-Adoption Limited Series Greenlighted By Hulu
[Deadline 8/3/22 By Nellie Andreeva]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update:“Natalia Grace, the Ukrainian woman with dwarfism accused of lying about her age and ‘tormenting’ her adoptive parents, is suing Disney.

Grace was portrayed by Imogen Faith Reid in the 2025 Hulu series Good American Family, starring Ellen Pompeo as her mother Kristine Barnett.

Now Grace, estimated to be 24 years old, is going after Disney and Hulu for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to TMZ.

Grace is arguing in a lawsuit that the show painted her as ‘deceptive, dangerous, manipulative, dishonest, not truly a child, and responsible for acts of abuse, violence, or attempted violence.’

Despite the show’s disclaimer that some events were fictionalized, Grace believes it isn’t enough to protect the company, she said in documents seen by the site, as it’s unclear which parts were real and which were made up.

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Disney and Hulu to request comment.

TMZ reported that Grace filed the lawsuit without a lawyer and is seeking unspecified damages.

Grace stated in her filing, per the news outlet, that Disney purposely or haphazardly framed the series to highlight the accusations against her.

She claims it was only later that the company revealed details about her being abused as a child.

The first four episodes of the miniseries follow Kristine, who believes a 22-year-old infiltrated her family while claiming she was only six.

The second half imagines the events from Grace’s perspective – a victim of cruelty who is mistreated and abandoned.

When Kristine and husband Michael Barnett decided to adopt a six-year-old girl in 2010 in the hope of expanding their family, they felt nothing but ‘overwhelming love’ for their new daughter.

Grace had already been adopted once before, just two years prior, but the parents rescinded their rights, citing her disruptive behavior.

Kristine and Michael decided to raise her alongside their three biological sons in New Hampshire.

The following years saw a shocking breakdown in the relationship, with Kristine and Michael accusing the adoptee of pretending to be a child and lying about her real age, even claiming she tried to kill them. After seeking advice from a family physician, they fought to have her birth date changed from 2003 to 1989, claiming she was an adult when they adopted her.

Grace has denied all accusations against her, and the couple was charged with neglect after moving to Canada and allegedly leaving her at an apartment in Lafayette. They were eventually acquitted of the charges.

For years, Grace was defended by Bishop Antwon and Cynthia Mans, who eventually became her third set of adoptive parents in June 2023.

In January 2024 she insisted she was doing ‘okay’ after her latest adoptive family said they were ‘done’ with her in the finale of her documentary The Confessions Of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks.

She wrote on a GoFundMe page at the time that she had moved out and was trying to raise money for spinal surgery.

The GoFundMe read: ‘I recently moved out and I’m saving money to get my own house so I can have a personal place of my own,’ she shared. ‘I am wanting to start my own photography business to create a fun and awesome way to have fun and do what I love which is taking pictures and creating memories for myself and other people!’

She also explained that the spinal surgery she wants to have done isn’t covered by her medical insurance and costs ‘in excess of $500,000.’

The statement continued: ‘I have a type of dwarfism called Diastrophic Dysplasia – a form of dwarfism that has many serious issues which often require surgery.

‘The first treatment I need is to have my spine corrected as if I leave it too long it could lead to paralysis and incontinence.'”

Ukrainian dwarf Natalia Grace sues Disney for defamation over drama about her life

[Daily Mail 3/21/26]