Just recently, after five months of waiting, the cause of death of Tawny Kitaen has been
announced.
The family of the iconic music video and film actress can now rest assured knowing that
the Bachelor Party star died peacefully and that the death wasn’t self-inflicted.
Although the actress had some ups and downs in her life, she was in a relatively good
place when she died.
Join Facts Verse as Tawny Kitaen’s cause of death is finally revealed five months too
late.
During the 1980s, Tawny Kitaen was one of the most popular video actresses out there
thanks to her appearances in numerous music videos for the band Whitesnake.
The actress’s career as a music video vixen had long since come to an end before her recent
death, though she was still doing well for herself and her daughters.
After her death was announced, family and fans alike waited anxiously to hear what had
been the cause.
This included Tawny’s younger brother Jordan, who was one of her closest family members.
However, no cause of death was announced.
Days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months.
Still, no word was heard from the authorities about what Tawny’s cause of death had been.
Finally, five months after the fact, it was revealed that the beloved actress had died
peacefully from heart problems.
Now, her family and fans are able to get some closure knowing that there was no foul play
involved in the actress’s death and that she didn’t have to experience too much pain
as she passed.
The cause of Tawny’s death has been revealed to be dilated cardiomyopathy, which is a type
of heart disease that is not uncommon amongst the population.
The actress had passed away on May 7, 2021, at the age of 59.
After her death, her two daughters, Wynter and Raine, announced her passing on Instagram.
The message included a heartfelt thanks to their mother’s fans.
Tawny shared the two daughters with ex-husband and retired professional baseball player Chuck
Finley, whom she had married in 1997 and divorced in 2002.
Tawny was a television and film actress, having had roles in things such as the 1984 Tom Hanks
comedy film Bachelor Party and an early 1991 episode of Seinfeld.
However, it’s hard to deny that Tawny’s true success was on the small screen, where
she could be seen in numerous heavy metal music videos for bands such as Whitesnake
and Ratt.
After her time as a vixen and fledgling film star came to an end, Tawny continued to perform
in various capacities until her death.
She co-hosted America’s Funniest People alongside Full House’s Dave Coulier during
the early 1990s and appeared on reality television series such as Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
and The Surreal Life in the new millennium.
Tawny’s appearance on the prior show took advantage of her then-recent run-ins with
the law regarding substance abuse, though the actress had apparently long since given
up such habits by the time of her death.
Family and fans alike are comforted by the news that Tawny died peacefully of natural
causes, with one of the most relieved figures being Tawny’s younger brother, Jordan.
Jordan had been anxiously awaiting the announcement of his older sister’s cause of death for
the past five months and breathed a sigh of relief knowing that she had passed in one
of the most peaceful ways that she possibly could’ve.
Oddly, Jordan had predicted soon after his sister's death was announced that she had
died of a broken heart due to the recent death of their father.
As it turns out, Jordan's prediction wasn't far off! Jordan expressed that his sister
had been devastated seemingly beyond repair after their father passed and that he wasn't
too surprised when she followed suit.
Though he thinks that Tawny must have had some natural weakness in her heart that allowed
the death to occur, he truly believes that his older sister would've lived at least a
little bit longer if it weren't for the loss of their father.
Jordan has also shared that he is going to be taking special care this holiday season
to make sure that his late sister’s two daughters receive some special love and attention.
Their mother was apparently a big celebrator of the holidays, so not having her around
is going to be even harder for them come Christmas time.
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Soon after Tawny Kitaen’s death, her family and friends held a celebration in honor of
her life.
The celebration included speeches from both of the actress’s daughters, as well as Jordan’s
teenage son performing a rendition of “Let It Be” by the Beatles.
Although her family and friends were certainly sad to see Tawny go, they were proud of everything
that she had accomplished during her life.
Tawny was born in San Diego, California, on August 5, 1961.
At a young age, she was diagnosed with dyslexia.
This severely affected Tawny’s motivation and ability to receive an education, and inevitably
resulted in the young girl dropping out of school completely during her high school years.
Thankfully, the young woman had her good looks to get her by!
She began acting and modeling at a young age, though she didn’t hit it big until she began
appearing in music videos.
She debuted in Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” music video in 1982, and was subsequently
rocketed into superstardom as one of the preeminent sex symbols of the decade.
She followed this up with roles in films.
The year after debuting in Whitesnake’s music video for “Here I Go Again”, Tawny
appeared in a television movie by the name of Malibu.
However, it was her appearance in 1984’s Bachelor Party that has arguably gone down
in history as the actress’s most notable role on the big screen.
The film was an early comedy for Tom Hanks and has since attained a cult following both
for its star’s performance and for its crude humor.
Tom Hanks played the character receiving the titular bachelor party, and Tawny was the
actress cast as his character’s bride-to-be.
The peak of Tawny’s career success was the 1980s, and the 1990s saw her taking on much
more modest gigs.
From 1992 to 1994, she co-hosted America’s Funniest People with Full House’s Dave Coulier.
She also had a small part on the early 90s sitcom The New WKRP in Cincinnati, performing
in the show for a total of 19 episodes.
Another show that Tawny appeared in multiple times during the 1990s was Hercules, in addition
to her aforementioned one-time appearance in an early 1991 episode of Seinfeld.
Although Tawny’s film and television career was nothing to balk at, she never found success
in either medium comparable to the success she found in music videos.
However, she wasn’t able to pass as a music video vixen quite as easily into the new millennium.
Tawny kept her star afloat into the 2000s by appearing in reality television series
such as The Surreal Life and Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.
Tawny came onto the former series during the sixth season.
The producers of the show felt that Tawny would boost the show’s dwindling ratings,
and Tawny felt as if appearing in the show might help bring her back into the spotlight.
Sadly, neither of these things really ended up happening.
Tawny’s time on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew came in 2008, after the actress had been
publicly exposed as having a drug problem.
Tawny went on to complete televised treatment on the program, though subsequently relapsed
in 2009.
Still, it seems as if Tawny had overcome these substance abuse issues by the time of her
death.
When it came to Tawny’s personal life, she also had other issues besides drug addiction.
However, she was apparently in a place of peace at the time of her death.
The actress had been married twice over the course of her lifetime.
Her first marriage was to Whitesnake’s lead singer, who is a man by the name of David
Coverdale.
Oddly, the two didn’t get married until long after Tawny debuted in Whitesnake’s
“Here I Go Again” music video.
The two were married in 1989, and the marriage only lasted for two years.
They divorced in 1991, and Tawny went on to marry again several years later.
Tawny married her second husband in 1997, with him being the aforementioned retired
professional baseball player Chuck Finley.
Tawny’s marriage to Chuck yielded two girls, and also lasted a few more years than her
first one did.
However, it came to a sour end when Tawny was arrested for beating her husband with
her shoes.
That incident between Tawny and her second husband occurred in 2002, just before their
divorce.
The couple had apparently gotten into an argument, which resulted in Tawny pulling off her high-heeled
shoes and proceeding to beat her spouse with them.
As it turns out, this was something that Tawny did regularly when arguments became heated,
and this time Chuck had experienced enough of the abuse.
Chuck ended up dropping the charges after Tawny underwent a year of spousal battery
counseling, but the damage had already been done to their relationship.
Chuck filed for divorce a mere three days after the occurrence, and Tawny never remarried
another time before her death.
However, she always made sure to maintain a very close relationship with her and Chuck’s
two daughters.
Although Tawny Kitaen was best known for her appearances in heavy metal music videos, she
still had a couple of memorable film and television appearances during her time in the spotlight.
Comment down below to share what your favorite music video featuring Tawny is, or if there’s
something else that you like her even better in!
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