Dusty Ellis

Sherri Lou "Dusty" Ellis (October 13, 1953 – November 2, 2012) was an American woman known for her involvement in the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant criminal case of the 1970s when she and her roommate Karen Silkwood became activists and nuclear whistleblowers after both of their bodies tested positive for plutonium contamination. Their fight for safer working conditions was chronicled in the 1983 film Silkwood, in which Ellis was portrayed by Cher, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. After Karen Silkwood's death in 1974, Ellis continued to protest and was involved in a series of legal battles against Kerr-McGee and the state of Oklahoma.