Erin Brockovich

The youngest child of Frank and Betty Jo Pattee, Erin Brockovich grew up in Lawrence, Kansas. After earning an Assoicates degree in Applied Arts, trying out several jobs, and divorcing twice, Erin found herself alone with three children to provide for.

After being seriously injured in a traffic accident in Reno, Erin moved back to Southern California with her children. In 1991, she hired the law firm of Masry and Vititoe to handle her case, and although she received $17,000 in settlement money, it did not begin to cover her debts. Unable to find work, she soon begged Masry and Vititoe to hire her as a $1,200 a month file clerk. It was not long after that some medical records she found in a pro bono real estate case file piqued her curiosity. After getting permission from the firm's principal, Ed Masry, she began to look into the matter.

Erin's solo investigation eventually established that the health of countless people who lived in and around Hinkley, California in the 1960's, 70's and 80's had been devastated by exposure to toxic Chromium 6. In 1996, as a result of the largest direct action lawsuit of it's kind, spearheaded by Erin Brockovich and Ed Masry, the giant utility was ordered to make the largest legal settlement in U.S. history, paying out some $333 million in damages to more than 600 Hinkley residents.

The story of Erin's investigation, legal triumph and personal issues were dramatized in the hit movie Erin Brockovich. Released in March 2000 by Universal Studios, it starred JULIA ROBERTS as Erin and ALBERT FINNEY as Edward Masry.

No longer a file clerk, Erin now serves as director of environmental research at Masry and Vititoe, where she is currently involved in other major environmental lawsuits that she put together. Remarried in 1999 to actor Eric Ellis, she lives with her husband and children in Agoura Hills, California.