Erin Brockovich-Ellis (born June 1960) is a woman who, despite lack of formal law school education, in 1993 was instrumental in constructing a case against the $30 billion Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), of California, alleging contamination of drinking water with hexavalent chromium in the southern California town of Hinkley. The case was settled in 1996 for $333 million, the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit in U.S. history.
Continuing to work with the Thousand Oaks, California-based lawyer Ed Masry , she went on to participate in other anti-pollution lawsuits. One accuses Whitman Corp. of chromium contamination in Willits, California, and another with 1200 plaintiffs alleges contamination near PG&E's Kettleman Hills plant in Kings County.
After experiencing problems with mold contamination in her own home in the Conejo Valley, Brockovich became a prominent activist and educator in this area as well. Today, Brockovich is a noted speaker in demand all over the U.S.
Brockovich was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas and attended Kansas State University in Manhattan. She has lived in California since 1982.
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