Tawny Kitaen- Bio, Relationship, Net Worth & Death

Who is Tawny Kitaen?

Tawny Kitaen is an American model and actress. She is very famous for her role in the movie Bachelor Party and Sienfield as Jerry’s girlfriend.

Tawny Kitaen also dated the famous baseball player Chuck Finley. They even got married and had two daughters. Unfortunately, the marriage did not last long. The actress has been seen in many TV series playing a minor role and in some music videos for Whitesnake’s and Ratt.

In May 2021, the news of Tawny Kitaen’s death broke all our hearts. The actress died just at the age of fifty-nine. Although she no longer remains physically, her works are forever remembered and cherished. 

Tawny Kitaen
Tawny Kitaen Biography

Quick Facts

Full nameJulie Ellen Kitaen
Known asTawny Kitaen
BirthdayAugust 5, 1961
DiedMay 7, 2021 [at the age of 59]
Sun signLeo
TraitsPositive: Adventurous, loyal, and confident
Negative: Possessive, egoistic, and impatient
Place of birthSan Diego, California, U.S.
Currently ResidingNewport Beach, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationMission Bay High School, Dropout
ParentsTerry Kitaen (Father)
Linda Kitaen(Mother)
SiblingsJordan Kitaen (Brother)
Name Unknown (Sister)
Marital StatusDivorced
Ex-husband nameChuck Finley (Ex-Husband)
David Coverdale (Ex-husband)
ChildrenWynter Merin Finley (Daughter)
Raine Finley (Daughter)
ProfessionModel, Actress, Media Personality
Net WorthUSD 1 Million
Social MediaTawny Kitaen Instagram
Facebook
Tawny Kitaen Twitter

Interesting Facts

  • She is the eldest among her siblings.
  • Tawny was born in California and, throughout her life, stayed there.
  • Her real name is Julie Ellen Kitaen. She started to call herself Tawny at 12, and it stayed on.
  • She suffered from dyslexia, because of which she had to drop out of high school.
  • Unfortunately, Tawny had to go to rehab due to her substance abuse. She was addicted to cocaine. She stayed there for six months.
  • Tawny Kitaen married twice, and both ended up in divorce.
  • Tawny Kitaen had an affair with OJ Simpson. Moreover, the experience lasted for a year. This information was disclosed in Nicole Brown Simpson‘s book: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted.
  • She appeared as a guest in the show Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew.
  • As a teenager, she dreamt about dating someone famous.
  • She was on an album cover of an American band called Ratt.
  • Tawny Kitaen was a co-host of America’s Funniest People in 1992 for two years.
  • She has had some plastic surgeries as she started to feel insecure about her looks. Her sixth surgery went terribly wrong.

Parents

Tawny Kitaen with her father, brother, and sister
Tawny Kitaen with her father, brother, and sister

Terry Kitaen (Father)

Tawny Kitaen’s father, Terry Kitaen, used to work in a neon sign company. He has three children. Moreover, Terry is of Russian-Jewish heritage.

Linda Kitaen(Mother)

Linda is a housewife and the mother of Tawny. She has three children with her husband, Terry Kitaen. Moreover, she belongs to Scottish and Irish ancestry.

Siblings

Jordan Kitaen (Brother)

Jordan is Tawny’s youngest siblings. The two were very close. After the death of the actress, Jordan shared some words about their excellent relationship.

Kitaen also has a sister, but there is no information about her.

Tawny Kitaen with her brother, Jordan Kitaen
Tawny Kitaen with her brother, Jordan Kitaen

Romantic Affairs and Relationship

Before getting married, Tawny dated some people. She dated Robbin Crosby, a guitarist of band Ratt while she was in high school. She also had a one-year-long affair with O.J. Simpson. This information was brought in the OJ’s trial and is also mentioned in a book.

David Coverdale(Ex-husband)

On September 22, 1951, David Coverdale was born in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, England. He was the lead singer of a band called Deep Purple in 1973.

In 1989, British-American lead singer David Coverdale and actress Tawny married each other. But after only two years of marriage, the couple called it quit in April 1991.

Chuck Finley (Ex-Husband)

In 1997, Tawny got married to Chuck Finley, a baseball player. They had two daughters together.

But the couple got divorced in 2002 after Chuck filed a charge at the actress for domestic violence. 

Children

Wynter Merin Finley (Daughter)

Wyner is the eldest child of Chuck and Tawny. On March 18, 1993, she was born in Newport Beach, California. She works in the marketing and communication department. Moreover, she completed her college degree from Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.

Raine Finley (Daughter)

Raine is Tawn’s youngest daughter. In addition, she was born on June 1, 1998. Raine did an internship at Warner Bros. Entertainment. It looks like she is interested in the film industry.

Raine Finley with her mother and sister
Tawny Kitaen with her daughters, Wynter and Raine Finley

Controversies

Unfortunately, Tawny used to have a way of getting into trouble. In the most-watched trial of OJ Simpson, she was mentioned due to her affair with a married man.

In 2006, the actress was caught with 15 grams of cocaine at her house. After that, she went to rehab for six months.

Moreover, in 2009, she was arrested for driving under the influence. She then served two days of jail time and 64 hours of community service.

The divorce between the baseball player Chuck and the actress was rough. Chuck filed for divorce after seeing and experiencing physical abuse from the actress.

Career

Tawny attended a concert as a fourteen-year-old and saw the lead singer’s girlfriend get the VIP treatment. As soon as she saw that, she knew what she wanted to do in her life.

She started with modeling and even got featured on Ratt’s album cover. She then began auditioning and taking on small parts in different shows. Finally, she did a small part in the movie Malibu.

Soon after, she was seen in many movies and series like Bachelor Party, Witchboard, Sienfield, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, etc.

She also featured in some of the music videos of Whitesnake, such as Is This Love, Still Of The Night, The Deeper The Love. She was also in Ratt’s music video for Back for More.

Filmography:

Tawny Kitaen Movies

YearTitleRole
1984The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-YakGwendoline
1984Bachelor PartyDebbie Thompson
1986WitchboardLinda Brewster
1986Crystal HeartAlley Daniels
1986Instant JusticeVirginia
1987Happy HourMisty Roberts
1989White HotVanessa
1993Three of HeartsWoman in Bar
1996PlaybackSara Burgess
1997Dead TidesNola
2009Tom Cool
2011Here We Go Again
2014After MidnightRikki
2015Come SimiDee Dee

Tawny Kitaen TV Series

YearTitleRole
1976To Tell the TruthHerself
1983MalibuMahoney’s girlfriend
1985California GirlsKaren Malone
1986–1987CapitolMeredith Ross
1987Glory YearsMelinda Murphy
1989Santa BarbaraLisa DiNapoli
1989BookerSkylar Samperton
1991They Came From Outer SpaceMonica Bates
1991Veronica Clare
1991SeinfeldIsabel
1991–1993The New WKRP in CincinnatiMona Loveland
1992–1994America’s Funniest PeopleCo-host
1992–1996Eek! The CatAnnabelle (voice)
1994Married… with ChildrenDominique
1994Hercules and the Circle of FireDeianeira
1994Hercules in the UnderworldDeianeira
1994Hercules in the Maze of the MinotaurDeianeira
1995Burke’s LawRhonda Dooley
1995Hercules: The Legendary JourneysDeianeira
1997Hercules: The Legendary JourneysDeianeira
2006The Surreal LifeHerself
2011CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationLydia Kole
2012Life@LargeDiane Kaplan
2017BotchedHerself

Music videos

YearTitleRole
1984“Back for More”Ratt
1987“Still of the Night”Whitesnake
1987“Here I Go Again”Whitesnake
1987“Is This Love”Whitesnake
1990“The Deeper the Love”Whitesnake

Tawny Kitaen Death

On May 7, 2021, the death of the fifty-nine-year-old actress came as a shock to everyone. Unfortunately, the cause of Tawny wasn’t public immediately since it took the doctor’s time to find it. Finally, in October 2021, the reason was dilated cardiomyopathy.

Tawny Kitaen Net Worth

At the time of her death, Tawny Kitaen had a net worth of USD 1 Million. She also owned a house in Newport Beach, California. 

Social Media

Tawny Kitaen is all over social media. She is on Facebook with 168k followers. Meanwhile, she has 140k followers on Instagram and 73k followers on Twitter. Unfortunately, after her death, the account is frozen.

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