Who are Julia Faustyna’s parents? All about her family

Julia Faustyna

Julia Faustyna, a 21-year-old Polish woman, has provided another twist in perhaps the longest-running missing persons case in the world, Madeleine McCann’s disappearance. Madeleine vanished in May 2007 from the bedroom of a ground-floor apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, where she’d been sleeping with her two-year-old siblings. 

Investigators from Portugal, Madeleine’s native Britain, and Germany searched tirelessly for the three-year-old. In June 2020, authorities declared that Madeleine was presumed dead in absentia. Authorities in Braunschweig, Germany, accused Christian Brueckner, a handyman working in the same resort where McCann disappeared, of abducting and killing McCann. 

Madeleine’s parents have agreed to a DNA test to determine whether Faustyna is Madeleine. 

Julia Faustyna hasn’t revealed her parents’ identities but claims they aren’t her biological parents

Julia Faustyna has refrained from revealing her parents’ identities. We assume that the photos she’s posted on Instagram feature her parents, but she obscures the faces of the adults in those pictures. 

Faustyna shared her mother’s photo on Instagram Stories. Netizens pointed out that she resembles her mother, casting doubt on the claim that she is the long-lost Madeleine. 

The Polish citizen uses several last names – Wendell, Wandelt, Faustyna – making it difficult to identify her family. 

Faustyna alleges that several months ago, her grandmother informed her that she was Madeleine. She claims she can’t remember significant chunks of her childhood and has never seen her birth certificate. Faustyna captioned a 14th February Instagram upload:

“I don’t remember most of my childhood but my earliest memory is very strong and It’s about holidays in hot places where was beach and White or very light colored buildings with apartments. I remember that I saw turtles on the beach it was little Bay.., and there were other children and they tried to touch small turtles.”

“I don’t see my family in this memory,” she added. People have cast doubt on Faustyna’s assertion, alleging she has an ulterior motive for claiming to be Madeleine. If fame was her goal, she’s certainly achieved it: a week after launching her Instagram page, she’s attracted 1.1 million followers. 

Others have sympathized with Faustyna, applauding her for asking questions about her past. @aphydenis commented on a video posted by Faustyna on 16th February 2023:

“You have been through hell and you have suspicions which on the off chance say you are — this is the right thing to do. Ask questions. You said yourself you may be or you may not be Madeleine the important thing is being sure indeed.”

The upcoming DNA test will reveal whether Faustyna is Madeleine. Before Faustyna, several other women had claimed to be Madeleine: Harriet Brooks, a Manchester university student; Maddie, a TikToker; Embla Jauhojarvi, a girl who lived in Rome but claimed to be British.