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About
Father at the center of Netflix's 2023 documentary Take Care of Maya, the film that chronicled how his 10-year-old daughter Maya Kowalski was separated from her family after a hospital suspected "medical child abuse," how the separation led to the death of his wife and Maya's mother Beata Kowalski, and how he later led the family's civil case to a landmark jury verdict.
Before Fame
He is a retired firefighter whose public profile grew from private parent to plaintiff and advocate as he testified about Maya's diagnosed complex regional pain syndrome, along with the ordeal that followed her admission to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in October 2016. He became widely known when Take Care of Maya premiered at Tribeca and then streamed worldwide on Netflix in June 2023.
Trivia
His firefighting background shaped how he talks about child-safety systems, as he has seen real abuse cases in the field and supports vigilant protection, but believed the methods used in his family's case were deeply flawed. His family's ordeal is now seen as a case study in balancing medical suspicion and due process.
Family Life
He is the father of Maya Kowalski and Kyle Kowalski. His wife Beata Kowalski died by suicide in January 2017.
Associated With
Syesha Mercado is another high-profile figure linked to the broader conversation that Take Care of Maya helped spark in 2023.
