NEVADA-BORN environmental activist Erin Brockovich became the subject of a 2000 eponymously titled film, starring Julia Roberts, after she went from being an unemployed single mother to leading one of the largest class-action law suits in US history.
Following her second divorce in 1990, Brockovich got a job as an administrative assistant in a southern Californian law firm, where she discovered unusual medical records relating to a property sale case.
Following further research, she found that a local community had been exposed to a toxic chemical in their groundwater, which had damaged their health.
A resulting court case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, which owned a nearby power station, resulted in $333 million (€212 million) in damages being paid to more than 600 residents.
The film was an international success and received five Oscar nominations, including a win for Roberts as best actress.
Brockovich continues to work as an environmental campaigner and runs an environmental research and consultancy firm.
OLIVIA KELLY
