Tawny Kitaen: Cause of Death Revealed
Tawny Kitaen, the much-lusted after star of Whitesnake’s epochal 1987 music video for “Here I Go Again,” died of dilated cardiomyopathy (a form of heart disease), USA Today reports.
Kitaen died in her home in Newport Beach, CA on Friday, May 7. She was 59 years old.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, “Other significant conditions included mild coronary atherosclerosis, mirtazapine, mirtazapine metabolite, alprazolam, acetaminophen, pregabalin and hydrocodone.”
Kitaen’s music video debut came in RATT’s 1984 clip, “Back for More.” She went on to appear not only in Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” video, but several of the band’s other clips as well, including “Still of the Night,” “Is This Love” and “The Deeper the Love.” She was also married to Whitesnake singer David Coverdale from 1989 to 1991.
As an actress, Kitaen played Tom Hanks’ girlfriend in the 1984 comedy Bachelor Party and appeared in the Seinfeld episode “The Nose Job.”
Kitaen also appeared on VH1’s Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2009. She was arrested for possession of cocaine in 2006 and for driving under the influence in 2009.
She also appeared on the reality shows The Surreal Life and Botched.
In 2011, she recreated the “Here I Go Again” video for a Funny or Die sketch, “Here We Go Again.”
In 1997, she married professional baseball player Chuck Finley, with whom she had two daughters. They divorced in 2002.
After Kitaen’s death was made public, “Here I Go Again” — which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987 — experienced a spike in demand on streaming music platforms.
