Erin Brockovich
Also known as Erin Pattee
Erin Brockovich is an environmental advocate whose current work asks communities to report the local effects of AI data centers. Her Hinkley investigation helped win a $333 million settlement for more than 600 residents, and the case inspired the 2000 film starring Julia Roberts. She published a bestselling book and hosted a television series, then drew attention to PFAS in drinking water. In 2026, she launched a community reporting map for data centers and joined TIME’s TIME100 AI list.
Timeline
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1960–1981
From Kansas to California
Born Erin Pattee in Lawrence, Kansas, she attended Lawrence High School and Kansas State University. She later moved to California, worked as a K-Mart management trainee, and won the Miss Pacific Coast pageant in 1981.
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1993–1996
Tracing Hinkley’s water
As a file clerk at Masry & Vititoe, she found evidence of Hinkley groundwater contamination and worked with attorney Ed Masry on the case against PG&E. The 1996 settlement paid $333 million to more than 600 residents.
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2000
A case reaches cinema
Julia Roberts portrayed Brockovich in the 2000 film Erin Brockovich, which dramatized the Hinkley lawsuit.
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2001
Writing and television
She published Take It from Me, which became a New York Times bestseller, and hosted the Lifetime series Final Justice.
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2020
Attention to PFAS
Her efforts centered on PFAS in drinking water, chemicals linked to cancer and other health effects.
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May 2026
Mapping data center concerns
By May 2026, she had launched Brockovich AI Data Center Reporting, a public map of data centers and nearby community reports. After an April 2026 call for reports, the project received nearly 4,000 submissions in its first month.
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2026
A TIME100 AI selection
TIME named her to its 2026 TIME100 AI list for mapping community reports on AI data centers.
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As of October 2026
A public map for AI
She is running Brockovich AI Data Center Reporting and continues to focus on transparency around AI data center expansion. She has raised concerns about environmental assessments, community input, water use, and effects on local resources.
Sources and credits
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- Erin Brockovich - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society
- Digging for the Truth
- My Story - Erin Brockovich
- Erin Brockovich - Movie, Activism & Facts
- Erin Brockovich Blasts U.S. Regulation of Toxic Chemicals
- Erin Brockovich takes aim at data center secrecy
- Erin Brockovich takes on data centers
- Latest News & Articles | Brockovich AI Data Center Reporting
- Erin Brockovich’s next act