People
Who is Erin Brockovich’s husband? His children, biography
Erin Brockovich, environmental activist, also a media personality, rose to prominence after working as a lawyer at the law firm Masry & Vititoe. She successfully completed the lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric, which resulted in the largest settlement ever paid in a US lawsuit.
Erin Brockovich: Biography
Erin Brockovich was born Erin Pattee, one of four children to Betty Jo (née O’Neal) and Frank Pattee on June 22, 1960 in Lawrence, Kansas. His father was a former American football player turned industrial engineer while his mother was a journalist. Her siblings are Frank Jr., Thomas, and Jodie Pattee.
Brockovich attended Lawrence High School before later enrolling at Kansas State University. However, she later transferred to Wade College in Dallas, Texas, where she earned her Associate of Applied Arts degree. After graduating, she worked as a management trainee at Kmart in Newport Beach, California, before deciding to quit to become a model. She first entered the local beauty pageant, Miss Pacific Coast, in 1981, which she won.
She gave up the crown, however, after finding love, moving around the country with her family until the marriage fell apart. She then found work as an assistant at a brokerage firm in Reno, Nevada. A few years later, Brokovich was involved in a near-fatal car accident that required neck surgery. She sued the other party involved through the San Fernando, Calif.-based law firm Masry & Vititoe and eventually won a settlement. The money, however, was very low and could not support her and her family, prompting her to find a job to make ends meet.
Ed Masry, one of her lawyers, reportedly felt sorry for her and offered her a desk job at his company, which she wholeheartedly accepted. One day, while going about her usual day-to-day business, Brokovich came across paperwork involving utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) that had blood samples in its paperwork. His curiosity was aroused and Brokovich asked his bosses for permission to explore the file further. She then rummaged through tons of documents that led her to the town of Hinkley, located in the California desert, where several people had fallen ill. Following further investigations,
The substance was traced to the PG&E station in Hinkley and later led to a class action lawsuit by more than 600 Hinkley residents. After three years, the case was settled in 1996 for a record settlement fee of $333 million. Erin Brockovich was awarded $2.5 million for her relentless pursuit of the matter. The case received national media coverage and caught the attention of Hollywood producers who turned the story into a film, Erin Brokovich (2000), in which the main character is portrayed by Julia Roberts.
The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $250 million and winning several awards. It also brought great notoriety to the real Erin Brockovich, who embarked on a career as an activist and conservationist, while publishing a number of books and becoming a public speaker. Since then, she has subsequently been involved in dozens of cases against giants in the automotive, pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries, while building a consultancy that tracks environmental risks around the world.
Who is Erin Brockovich’s husband? Their children
Erin Brockovich has been married three times. Her first marriage was to restaurant manager-turned-actor Shawn Brown, who is best known for his work in the films ROTOR (1987) and Spunky Airlines (2010). The couple married in 1982 and were blessed with two children. Matthew Brown, born in 1983, and Katie Brown, born in 1985. In December 1987, the two spouses asked about their wedding time and decided to separate.
Her second marriage was to stockbroker StevenBrockovich whom she met while working as a secretary at a brokerage firm in Reno, California. The two married in 1989 and had one child, his third and last child named Elizabeth, born in 1991. The following year, Erin and Steven divorced. She dated a number of people between then and 1999 meeting actor Eric L. Ellis, known for his work on Coming to America (1988), Major Payne (1995) and Showgirls (1995). The couple married in March 1999 and have remained in the spotlight ever since.
