Tawny Kitaen, Actress, and Former Video Vixen Has Passed Away

Actress Tawny Kitaen has passed away. According to a press release from the Orange County Coroner’s Office, she died in her home in Newport Beach in California on the morning of May 7. No cause of death has been listed.

Actress and model Carrie Stevens confirmed Tawny’s death on Twitter. She wrote, “It’s true. I don’t [blame] people for not wanting to believe it.... but it is fact. Let [sic] let her family give the official statement. They deserve that respect. RIP to a legend."

According to Rocks Off Magazine, she was born Julie E. Kitaen on August 5, 1961, in San Diego, California, and at 12 years old changed her name to Tawny.

Kitaen appeared in many television shows and movies, including “Bachelor Party” with Tom Hanks, “Witchboard,” “Seinfeld,” “California Girls,” “The New WKRP in Cincinnati” and “Hercules.” She also co-hosted “America’s Funniest People” with Dave Coulier in the ‘90s and tried her hand at reality television by appearing on “The Surreal Life,”  “Celebrity Rehab,” and “Botched.”

But she is arguable best known for being a video vixen in Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” music video. This wasn’t the only Whitesnake video she starred in. She also appeared in videos for “The Deeper the Love,” “Still of the Night” and “Is This Love.”

Rocks Off Magazine adds that Tawny went on to date and marry Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale. They wed in 1989 and divorced two years later. She later married Chuck Finley in 1997. The pair had two daughters, Wynter Merin Finley, 28, and Raine Finley, 22.

She and Chuck Finley divorced in 2002. Per People, she was arrested for spousal abuse and agreed to attend counseling. In 2006, she was charged with possessing 15 grams of cocaine, and in 2009 was arrested for driving under the influence.

Tawny was 59 years old at the time of death.

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