Topline
Julie “Tawny” Kitaen, an actress who vamped it up in a number of popular music videos in the 1980s, died on Friday in Newport Beach, Calif., at the age of 59 according to the coroner’s office in Orange County.
ISELIN, NJ - MARCH 02: Tawny Kitaen attends the 2018 New Jersey Horror Con & Film Festival at ... [+]
Key Facts
The coroner’s office, which identified her by the name Tawny Finley, did not reveal the cause of her passing.
Kitaen appeared in various music videos for British rock band Whitesnake and American glam metal band RATT.
Kitaen scored a number of acting roles, most notably as Tom Hanks’ girlfriend in the hit 1984 comedy film Bachelor Party.
She struggled with substance abuse which she discussed on VH1’s Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, and was arrested for cocaine possession in 2006 (which led her to a six-month drug rehab program) and driving under the influence in 2009.
Kitaen leaves behind two daughters from her marriage to baseball star Chuck Finley.
Key Background
The San Diego-born Kitaen first came to public attention in 1983 by posing on the cover of RATT’s debut self-titled album and then for the cover of the group’s subsequent record, Out of the Cellar, in 1984. At the time, Kitaen was dating Robbin Crosby, RATT’s guitarist. Her best known video performance occurred in 1987 when she appeared in Whitesnake’s hit single Here I Go Again. Kitaen was married from 1989 to 1991 to Whitesnake’s lead singer, David Coverdale. As an actress she appeared in the films White Hot (1988), Witchboard (1993) and Dead Tides (1996). She also appeared in an episode of TV sitcom Seinfeld called The One With The Nose Job. Kitaen was married to baseball player Chuck Finley, a pitcher mostly for the California Angels, between 1997 and 2002. TMZ reported that Kitaen and Finley divorced shortly after she was charged with domestic violence for kicking him with her high heels. She entered a domestic violence counseling program following that fracas. In recent years, Kitaen appeared in a number of TV reality shows, including The Surreal Life and Botched. Kitaen had a Twitter account – her last tweet was on May 6, in which she thanked a fan for a drawing of her.
Surprising Fact
Kitaen claimed that when she first appeared in Whitesnake videos she had more money than singer Coverdale. She told the podcast Ouch, You're On My Hair: "Ironically, I started dating David [Coverdale]
. He was $2 million in debt to [record executive] David Geffen at that time. I was working and had more money than David [Coverdale] at that time, so I kind of supported us a little.”Further Reading
Four Ways The Business Of Music Videos Will Transform In 2019 (Forbes)
