Is Ellen Pompeo's Hulu Show Good American Family Based on a True Story? All We Know About Natalia Grace’s Adoption

The Good American Family has made its way to the digital screens. With the Ellen Pompeo starrer keeping the audience hooked, reports claim that the show is based on real-life events.

Written by Rashi Desai , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 20, 2025 | 11:19 AM GMT | 5.3K

Ellen Pompeo via YouTube

Good American Family has made its way to the digital screens. With the show being released on Hulu, the fans have gotten hooked on the characters and the storyline it caters to. Following the good reviews and applauds from the audience, the media reports suggest that the show is based on real-life events.

The narrative of the series follows a family, who adopts a child only to learn that it was actually an adult trying to scam them. The fans would be surprised to know that the reality is equally harrowing as the fiction.

In the show, Natalie Grace gets adopted by the Barnett family. However, this is not the first time that the incident has been covered onscreen. Previously, a movie named Orphan: First Kill covered the events leading to a masterplan.

A documentary series about Grace too tried to putforth the facts about the scam infront of the audience. However, the Good American Family has taken a little bit of creative liberty. According to the trailer, the show is based on "multiple stories, perspectives, threats, interpretations, and accusations.”

In the show, Ellen Pompeo portrays the role of Kristine Barnett and Imogen Faith Reid acts as Natalie Grace. The real accounts have been quite contradictory, as some reports suggest that the latter acted as a child to con and kill her adoptive family.

On the other hand, some reports claim that Grace’s adoptive family was abusive neglectful towards her. None of the theories have been proved with solid evidence yet.

Episodes of Good American Family are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.