Child of My Own' a True Story? Inside Netflix's New Documentary About a Kidnapping Scandal

Netflix’s August 2026 true-crime documentary “A Child of My Own” blends scripted drama with documentary investigation. The film begins with a telenovela-style setup as Eleonor Alejandra Marín Mendoza appears to fake a pregnancy until she is accused of stealing a newborn at a hospital in Mexico City. Although part of the movie is fictionalized reenactment, the article says the case is real: Mendoza and her husband, Arturo Calderón Gamiño, were arrested soon after she allegedly took the baby, and they were charged with kidnapping. Director Maite Alberdi credits a split structure—half scripted performances and half interviews. The scripted portion presents Mendoza’s account of miscarriages and an alleged arrangement, while the second half shifts to interviews, legal records, expert testimony, and multiple perspectives, including “Mayra.”