Was Natalia Grace Really a Child When She Was Adopted? Here’s What DNA Evidence Said
If you’re just getting started with the case of Natalia Grace because of Good American Family, there’s a lot of catching up to do. The real mystery of what age Natalia Grace was when the Barnetts adopted her was just recently confirmed, and it definitely subverts expectations.
The story began when Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian-born girl with a rare form of dwarfism, was adopted by Kristine Barnett and her husband Michael in 2010, but the couple soon came to believe that instead of being a child, she was actually an adult with intent to harm them.
The couple accused Natalia Grace of abuse and abandoned their adopted child in an apartment by herself in 2013. They also successfully petitioned the court to change her birth date from 2003 to 1989. But with all eyes on the case, some official documents and DNA testing provided the real answers.
Was Natalia Grace a Child When the Barnetts adopted her?
Yes, Natalia Grace was 7 years old when the Barnetts adopted her, meaning that the Barnetts abandoned her when she was only 10 years old. DNA evidence that was taken during the filming of her documentary The Curious Case of Natalia Grace and her birth records from Ukraine confirm her birthday was in August 2003.
She said in the documentary, “It just proves that I was not lying about my age. They ignored everything that was pointing to the truth just so they could create this stupid lie. They knew it and they still did what they did.”
Prosecutors also traced Natalia Grace’s birth mother Anna Volodymyrivna Gava who confirmed her birth date. “Daughter, forgive me for what happened 16 years ago. Visit soon for me to see you,” she said in a 2019 interview with the Daily Mail. “We are waiting for you. You have two sisters and two brothers.”
How old is Natalia Grace now?
As of 2025, Natalia Grace is 22 years old and lives in upstate New York with Nicole and Vince DePaul, who attempted to adopt Natalia in 2009 and have a form of dwarfism. Natalia left her previous family the Mans, after she accused them of abuse.
Natalia is also trying to get her GED, and her driver’s license and is aiming to start a family. “I’m a girl who loves kids and wants to get married and have children,” she said. “But one of my biggest things is not making promises I can’t keep. I’ve had too many promises that have been broken. I’m just ready to move on.”
