All you need to know about Erin Brockovich
Ava Arnold
Updated on January 03, 2026
Erin Brockovich is an American legal clerk and environmental activist, has a net worth of $10 million. Erin Brockovich is well known for bringing a case against the Pacific Gas & Electric Company in California.
The case argued that drinking water in Hinkley, California, had been contaminated with hexavalent chromium. The case was settled in 1996 for $333 million, the biggest payment ever paid in a direct action lawsuit in the United States at the time.
The narrative was adapted into the movie “Erin Brockovich.” In the film, Julia Roberts played Erin.
Who is Erin Brockovich?
Erin Brockovich was born June 22, 1960, in Lawrence, Kansas. Her mother, Betty Jo, was a journalist, while her father, Frank Pattee, worked as an industrial engineer. She has two brothers and a sister. After graduating from Lawrence High School, she attended Kansas State University before transferring to Wade College in Dallas, Texas, where she earned an Associate in Applied Arts degree.
How old is Erin Brockovich?
She is currently 63 years old.
What is Erin Brockovich’s net worth?
She is estimated to be worth $10 Million.
What is Erin Brockovich’s career?
Brockovich worked at K-Mart and later attended a beauty contest before commencing work as a legal clear for lawyer Edward L. Masry in California. In 1993, she began looking into a cluster of ailments among Hinkley, California residents. Hinkley was home to a compressor station constructed in 1952 as part of a natural gas pipeline.
Between 1952 and 1966, Pacific Gas & Electric utilized hexavalent chromium to combat corrosion at the station, then dumped the wastewater into unlined ponds near the site, where it percolated into groundwater. Residents in the two-square-mile area surrounding the plant were unusually ill, and Brockovich played a key role in assembling the case against PG&E. The case was settled in 1996 for $333 million, making it the biggest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit in the United States.
Brockovich’s work on the case inspired the 2000 feature film “Erin Brockovich,” starring Julia Roberts. The film received five Academy Award nominations, with Roberts winning Best Actress for her depiction of Brockovich. In 2001, she wrote her first book, “Take It From Me: Life’s a Struggle, But You Can Win.”
Following the case, Brockovich proceeded to collaborate with Edward Masry on a number of subsequent anti-pollution litigation. One of these cases targeted PG&E for another compressor station in California. This case was settled for $335 million in 2006. She has also worked on cases in Missouri, Texas, and New York involving pollution and other environmental issues tied to human illness.
Despite the fact that she never attended law school, Brockovich’s contributions to the legal profession have earned her several honorary degrees. In May 2005, she received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. She also received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and an Honorary Master of Arts degree from Jones International University in Colorado.
Brockovich appeared prominently in the 2012 documentary “Last Call at the Oasis,” which focused on water contamination, scarcity, and water policy in the United States. In August 2020, Brockovich published her second book, “Superman’s Not Coming.” “Rebel,” a 2021 television series, is partially based on Brockovich’s life.