“I gave the whole town a blowjob.”
20 years ago, movie-goers were stunned when their favorite rom-com leading lady Julia Roberts stormed onto the screen wearing a short skirt, six-inch heels and the world’s most famous bra, as well as an arsenal of F-bombs in Erin Brockovich. But like the real-life woman she was playing, she proved irresistible, with the superstar landing her first Oscar.
Directed by Steven Soderbergh and co-starring Albert Finney as real-life attorney Ed Masry, Erin Brockovich follows Brockovich and Masry’s fight against Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) of California in 1993 when she discovers they had contaminated the water supple in the town of Hinkley while working as his law clerk.
Though her wit and determination (along with people constantly underestimating the single mother of three because of her looks and lack of formal education), Brockovich helps the townspeople of Hinkley win a then groundbreaking case, with PG&E ordered to pay a settlement amount of $333 million (the largest sum ever at the time).
And when Brockovich’s story was brought to the big screen, another record was broken, as Roberts landed the largest payday for any actress in film history when she took on the role.
Here are 20 secrets you might not know about Erin Brockovich…