Natalia Grace's Biological Mother Claims That She Wants Her Daughter Back

The Gist:

• Natalia Grace's biological mother is Anna Volodymyrivna Gava.
• Her mother says that she wants a relationship with the daughter she gave up in Ukraine.
• Natalia isn't interested in a relationship and is focused on her family in the U.S.

Few stories have captivated the public in the same way that the Natalia Grace story has. Natalia, who was adopted by an American family from a Ukrainian orphanage more than a decade ago, has had multiple projects produced that tell her story, which includes several remarkable twists and turns.

Despite the chronicling of Natalia's bizarre and often tragic life, many still want to learn more about her biological mother. As it turns out, Natalia's biological mother may want a relationship with her daughter.

Natalia was initially adopted by Kristine and Michael Barnett. Natalia, who was diagnosed with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a rare form of dwarfism, shortly after her birth, only lived with the family for a few years before they abandoned her. They legally changed court records to suggest that Natalia was an adult, and then left her in an apartment and moved away with their biological children.

Following this saga, there was a court battle over whether the Barnetts had neglected Natalia. After the release of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace on Jan. 1, 2024, legal analyst Beth Karas says that Natalia's biological mother Anna Volodymyrivna Gava wants to establish a relationship with the daughter that she gave up. Beth, who appears heavily in the docuseries, claims that Anna wants Natalia to come to Ukraine.

"Her birth mother is in it again. She'd like Natalia to be with her, which is a little [crazy]. Ukraine right now, are you kidding?" Beth explained. "And Natalia has no relationship with her biological mother at all. I mean, this is the woman who gave her up. Whether you believe she was born in 1989 or 2003, she's an adult today. Why, as an adult, would she go back to the birth mother who gave her up and sent her on this journey of being bounced around families?"

Beth said that she hasn't spoken to Natalia about her birth mother, but added that Natalia does address her biological mother obliquely in Season 2. Natalia says that she is only Ukrainian by birth and has lived the majority of her life as an American. Natalia also said that her birth mother doesn't speak much English and that she has no intention of returning to the country where she was born.

"Frankly, I would like her here with me," Anna says in the new season. "I understand of course that 19 years is a significant period, but I would like her to be with me."

"I don't want to open that door of a relationship with Anna," Natalia says. "I get it you know, you probably do wanna see me and everything like that, but I have a family here. I have my parents who raised me."