Ellen Pompeo and Imogen Faith Reid; Kristine Barnett and Natalia Grace. Photo:
Disney/Ser Baffo; Investigation Discovery
Natalia Grace’s story reads like a scary movie — specifically the 2009 film Orphan, in which a woman disguises herself as a kid and is adopted by an unsuspecting family.
But Grace’s case is far more complex, and one that Hulu’s miniseries Good American Family, premiering March 19, aims to more accurately portray.
In 2010, Kristine Barnett (played by Ellen Pompeo) and Michael Barnett (Mark Duplass) adopted who they believed was a 6-year-old Ukrainian girl named Natalia Grace (Imogen Faith Reid) who had been diagnosed with a rare form of dwarfism.
Three years later, they moved her into an apartment and fled to Canada with their other three kids, claiming that she was an adult “sociopath” who had been masquerading as a child and wanted to harm them, per ID’s 2023 docuseries The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.
Though the Barnetts had Grace’s birth year legally changed to 1989, a blood test she took in 2023 determined that she was approximately 22 years old, meaning Grace would have been 9 years old when she was adopted.
Pompeo told Variety that she hopes Good American Family helps people “question why we believe what we believe.”
The series presents multiple perspectives because it is split into two parts. The first half of the show details Kristine’s ambitions to complete her family by adopting Grace, and her suspicions about her child not being a child at all. The second half flips the story upside down and tells it from the eyes of Grace.
From Natalia Grace to her former adoptive parents, here’s a look at the cast of Good American Family side-by-side with their real-life counterparts.
Imogen Faith Reid; Natalia Grace. Disney/Ser Baffo; Investigation Discovery/YouTube
Newcomer Imogen Faith Reid stars as Natalia Grace in Good American Family. She told TV Insider that she enjoyed playing both sides of this very complex story.
“I mean, the first four episodes were so much fun, and I just unleashed that image, just ready to come out … my villain era,” Reid told the outlet in March 2025 of the episodes centering Kristine’s perspective. “It was so much fun to play, but I do prefer Natalia’s point of view because it was so heartbreaking, and that’s a nuanced story. It’s hard to get to the truth.”
Reid also told Variety that she worked with an acting and dialect coach to find her “own version of Natalia.”
Ellen Pompeo; Kristine Barnett. Disney/Ser Baffo; Shutterstock
Ellen Pompeo stars in Good American Family as Kristine Barnett, Grace’s former adoptive mother.
Though the Grey’s Anatomy actress told PEOPLE in 2025 that she didn’t meet the real-life Kristine for her research, she did read the police reports from the case and leaned on her own experience as a mom.
“I think all mothers have the intention to love their children endlessly and to do everything in their power to give their children the best chance,” she said, also noting that the story proved challenging at times. “You have to get yourself in a state to be able to deliver certain lines and a truthful performance. It’s hard, but you have to go to dark places in your mind and make yourself uncomfortable.”
Pompeo added, “Just the very idea of some things I had to do and say were so tough.”
This role marks the first TV project the actress has taken on since her 20-year run on Grey’s Anatomy started. Pompeo, who also served as an executive producer on Good American Family, told The Hollywood Reporter that she wanted to take on something “completely different” from her previous gigs.
Mark Duplass; Michael Barnett. Disney/Ser Baffo; Shutterstock
Mark Duplass plays Grace’s former adoptive father, Michael Barnett, in Good American Family. Though he wasn’t 100% on board when he was first approached for the series, the actor told Variety that the multi-perspective format won him over.
“Look, there’s a documentary, there’s a movie called ‘Orphan’ that has similar themes, it’s been in the press. Why do we need another ripped from the headlines story?” Duplass said of his first impression of the idea.
After showrunners Katie Robbins and Sarah Sutherland told him about their unique concept, he became more interested because the story “hasn’t really been seen in the miniseries format.”
The Morning Show actor told TV Insider that it was fun for him to play “a very loving and affable dad” who “has his own damage, his own demons to fight, has to confront his own ego.”
Christina Hendricks; Cynthia Mans. Hulu-Disney/Everett; The Mans Family/ Instagram
Emmy-nominated actress Christina Hendricks plays Cynthia Mans, a woman who befriended Grace after the Barnetts moved her into an apartment to live alone. In real life, Grace moved in with Cynthia and her husband, Antwon Mans, and the family officially adopted her in 2023.
However, Grace fled the Mans’ home that same year and started residing with Nicole DePaul and her family. Nicole was interviewed in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter and accused Cynthia and Antwon of abuse. Grace has declined to comment on these allegations and the Manses did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment in January 2025.
In March, Hendricks told TV Insider that she believed Good American Family would challenge many people’s beliefs about the real case and the people involved.
“I think a lot of people have preconceived ideas about this story because they’ve heard tidbits,” the actress said. “So I think that if you watch this from beginning to end, you’re gonna have a very, very different feeling about what you think you know about the story.”
