ID/HuluGood American Family Episode 6, ‘Not Today Satan’, introduces Natalia Grace’s second adoptive parents, Cynthia and Antwon Mans. However, one person we won’t see depicted is Grace’s biological mother.
The story being told in the Hulu series was initially explored in ID’s documentary series, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace. In 2010, Natalia was adopted by Michael and Kristine Barnett, who later changed her legal age from eight to 22.
Thanks to DNA testing shown in the follow-up docu-series, Natalia Speaks, we learned that she was actually a child at the time. Although it seemed as if she was ready to move on with her life, accusations about her next adoptive parents came to light, which were explored in Season 3, The Final Chapter.
A lot has happened since then, but Good American Family takes us to 2010. The first half depicts her time at the Barnetts, and it’s now shifted to the aftermath of when they moved Natalia into an apartment alone, with Cynthia Mans swooping in.
Natalia Grace’s biological mom isn’t in Good American Family
IDThere are a few reasons why her mother, Anna Volodymyrivna Gava, won’t be depicted in the Hulu show, the first being that the series focuses exclusively on Natalia’s life in the US, starting from her adoption by the Barnetts.
In real life, Natalia was first brought over from Ukraine in 2008, when she was five years old, having been adopted by Gary and Dyan Ciccone. Her time in Ukraine and any details about her early childhood remain largely undocumented.
And this brings us to the next reason – very little is known about Anna, other than she gave Natalia up to an orphanage at the recommendation of a doctor due to her disability. We also know, thanks to DNA testing, that she is Natalia’s birth mother.
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This instantly disproved the Barnetts’ claims that Natalia was born in 1989 rather than 2003. Since Anna was born in 1979, she would’ve been 10 years old when she gave birth to Natalia if that was the case.
Natalia’s age has since been corrected, and is back to 2003 – the date on her original birth certificate. Her biological mother hasn’t appeared in any major public interviews, other than in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.
Her only real contact with Natalia was when she gave birth to her. This, coupled with the fact that there’s no detailed backstory, means it would have been difficult, irrelevant, and potentially ethically murky for Good American Family to depict Anna in the series.
Who is Anna Volodymyrivna Gava?
IDAs said, little is known about Anna, other than she was born in Latvia, lives in Ukraine, has a sister and four kids, and was 24 years old when she gave birth to Natalia.
However, she did express regret in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace and went into further detail about what happened.
“The childbirth was very difficult. When I regained consciousness, after anesthesia, the next day the doctor came and said there is no sense to take her home,” she says.
“They said that she won’t be able to walk at all and she will be of very short stature. They said a surgery would cost $100,000.”
The doctor suggested that she should give Natalia – named Natasha at birth – up as she didn’t have the funds and already had an older daughter. They brought her a waiver to sign, which Anna had to make five copies of.
“I didn’t initially want to leave her, but the doctors said there is nothing you could do for her. ‘You are young,’ they said, ‘You are 24 years old. Don’t ruin your life, you will have other children,” Anna explains.
When asked what brings tears to her eyes, she replies, “That I listened to the doctors and left her instead of keeping her. All this time, all those years, I’ve been thinking about her – what is her life like, what is she doing.”
Referring to what happened with the Barnetts, Anna says, “When I found out what happened, that she was abandoned at the age of 13, alone in an apartment… I was simply shocked.”
The interview is then cut off, as it was conducted in 2022, at the height of the war.
Who are Natalia Grace’s second adoptive parents?
IDTechnically, the Barnetts are Natalia’s second adoptive parents in the US. However, due to the case earning recognition due to the docu-series, Cynthia and Antwon Mans are widely regarded as being the second family.
In Good American Family, Cynthia is played by Man Men star Christina Hendricks, while Antwon is portrayed by Chicago Med star Jerod Haynes.
Ever since the follow-up seasons of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace – 2024’s Natalia Speaks and 2025’s The Final Chapter – the Mans have faced allegations of exploitation and abuse.
However, neither of them have gone to jail over the accusations. The Final Chapter depicted Natalia’s escape from their home, showing her now living with the DePaul family in New York State.
Find out when the next episode drops with our guide to the Good American Family release schedule, and check out our recaps of Episode 3 and Episode 4. You can also watch The Curious Case of Natalia Grace Seasons 1-3 on Max now.