Tawny Kitaen, a model and actress who starred in a number of Whitesnake music videos, including the famous “Here I Go Again” video from 1987, in which she danced on the hood of a Jaguar, has died at the age of 59. Kitaen, who was born Julie E. Kitaen in San Diego, died on Friday at her home in Newport Beach, California. Her death was confirmed by the Orange County Coroner’s Office, according to Variety. There was no mention of a cause of death.
Kitaen had a sultry cameo in the heyday of Eighties music videos that left an unforgettable image on a generation of hard rock fans. She co-starred in the 1984 Tom Hanks comedy Bachelor Party and had a variety of TV roles in shows like Married… With Children and Seinfeld.
Kitaen is best known for dancing and vamping her way through four Whitesnake song’s videos, starting in 1987 with “Here I Go Again.” She did splits and a cartwheel wearing a white see-through dress around black and white Jaguars while pawing at Whitesnake singer David Coverdale as he tried to drive. Kitaen would marry Coverdale in 1989 after appearing in the band’s videos for “Is This Love,” “Still of the Night,” and “The Deeper the Love.” In 1991, the pair divorced.
