Tawny Kitaen (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Julie E. "Tawny" Kitaen (born August 5, 1961) is an American actress and media personality. Kitaen became famous in the 1980s for appearing in several hard rock videos for the band Whitesnake, including the hit "Here I Go Again", and "Is this Love". Kitaen was married to Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale from 1989 to 1991 and to baseball player Chuck Finley from 1997 to 2002. She had recurring parts on multiple television series such as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and co-hosted America's Funniest People from 1992"1994. She was arrested for drug possession in 2006, has been in and out of rehab programs, was part of The Surreal Life cast in 2006, and was one of the patients in Season 2 of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.

Personal life

Kitaen was born in San Diego, California in 1961, the daughter of Linda (née Taylor), a housewife and a former beauty pageant participant, and Terry Kitaen, an employee of a neon sign company. She was raised in her father's Jewish religion. Julie began using the name "Tawny" at the age of 12, on her own initiative.

Kitaen dated Robbin Crosby of Ratt in the early 1980s.

Kitaen married David Coverdale in 1989, but the two divorced in 1991. After her marriage to Coverdale ended, she married baseball pitcher Chuck Finley in 1997. They had two daughters, Wynter Finley in 1993 and Raine Finley in 1998. Kitaen appeared in a feature of professional athletes and their wives in the 1999 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

Career

Kitaen began her acting career in 1983 with a minor role in the television movie, Malibu. In 1984, she starred as the title character of the erotic-adventure movie The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak (a.k.a. Gwendoline). She also co-starred in the movie Bachelor Party as the bride-to-be of a young Tom Hanks and was the star of the 1986 horror movie Witchboard.

She also starred in the not so well known film "Crystal Heart" in 1986.

Kitaen became associated with the glam metal scene because of her high school sweetheart, Ratt guitarist and founder Robbin Crosby. Her legs appeared on the cover of Ratt's self-titled EP wearing black fishnet stockings and red pumps, pictured with white mice climbing up her legs. Then, in torn clothes, she appeared on the cover of Ratt's Out of the Cellar. She also can be seen at the beginning of the Ratt video "Back for More" as the girl in the 1950s-style skirt at the jukebox.

In 1987, her boyfriend was David Coverdale, the lead singer of Whitesnake, and she appeared in several of the band's music videos, the most famous of which was for the song "Here I Go Again", in which she did the splits and rolled around on the hood of two Jaguars while wearing a white negligee. She also appeared in the videos for "Is This Love" and "Still of the Night". In 1989, she appeared in the video for "The Deeper the Love" and "Fool For Your Loving".

After her music-video appearances, Kitaen took on a number of television roles. She was co-host of America's Funniest People with Dave Coulier from 1992-4, and was a regular cast member on The New WKRP in Cincinnati from 1991-3. She guest-starred in the episode The Nose Job of the sitcom Seinfeld in 1991 and in Season 9 Episode 1 of Married... with Children called 'Shoeway to Heaven' in 1994. She had a recurring role as Hercules' wife Deianira in three of the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys television movies in 1994, and then in the regular television series. From 1992-6, she provided the voice of "Annabelle" in the animated television show Eek! The Cat.

Kitaen was one of the cast of the sixth edition of the VH1 reality television show, The Surreal Life, which began airing in March 2006. In addition, in late 2007, she appeared on Rock of Love Season 1 . Kitaen also appeared in the second season of the VH1 reality TV show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which began in October 2008. Dr. Drew Pinsky voiced concern for her use of triazolam after she admitted to using more than 0.5 mg per use. Pinsky guaranteed her that taking the drug (as with any benzodiazepine) in such high doses will eventually cause her to have a seizure. For fear of her life, Pinsky cut the dosage in half, despite Kitaen's protests.

Legal troubles

In 2002, Kitaen was charged with domestic violence for an incident involving her then-husband, professional baseball player Chuck Finley. Three days later, Finley filed for divorce. After a plea bargain, Kitaen agreed to "enter a spousal battery counseling program and avoid contact with Finley." The couple were married for five years and have two daughters, Wynter and Raine.

In November 2006, prosecutors charged Kitaen with possessing 15 grams of cocaine in her San Juan Capistrano home in Orange County. The authorities said her two children were home at the time and Kitaen had given deputies permission for the search. In December 2006, she entered a six-month rehabilitation program in exchange for the dismissal of a felony drug possession charge.

On September 26, 2009, Kitaen was arrested for driving under the influence in Newport Beach, California.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak	Gwendoline
1984	Bachelor Party	Debbie Thompson
1986	Witchboard	Linda Brewster
1986	Crystal Heart	Alley Daniels
1986	Instant Justice	Virginia
1987	Happy Hour	Misty Roberts
1989	White Hot	Vanessa
1993	Three of Hearts	Woman in Bar
1996	Playback	Sara Burgess
1997	Dead Tides	Nola
2002	Happy Hour		Short film
2009	Too Cool
2011	Here We Go Again		Short film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Malibu	Mahoney's Girlfriend	TV film
1985	California Girls	Karen Malone	TV film
1986-1987	Capitol	Meredith Ross	TV series
1987	Glory Years	Melinda Murphy	TV film
1989	Santa Barbara	Lisa DiNapoli	Episode: "1.1211"
1989	Booker	Skylar Samperton	Episode: "Someone Stole Lucille"
1991	They Came From Outer Space	Monica Bates	Episode: "Sex, Lies & UFOs: Part 2"
1991	Shades of LA	Linda Makowski	Episodes: "Line of Fire: Parts 1 & 2"
1991	Veronica Clare		Episodes: "The Boxing Story", "Slow Violence"
1991	Seinfeld	Isabel	Episode: "The Nose Job"
1991-1993	'	Mona Loveland	Main role (18 episodes)
1992-1996	Eek! The Cat	Annabelle (voice)	Main role (39 episodes)
1994	Married with Children	Dominique	Episode: "Shoeway to Heaven"
1994	Hercules and the Circle of Fire	Deianeira	TV film
1994	Hercules in the Underworld	Deianeira	TV film
1994	Hercules in the Maze of the Minotaur	Deianeira	TV film
1995	Burke's Law	Rhonda Dooley	Episode: "Who Killed Cock-a-Doodle Dooley?"
1995	Hercules: The Legendary Journeys	Deianeira	Episodes: "The Wrong Path", "The Other Side"
1997	Hercules: The Legendary Journeys	Deianeira	Episode: "When a Man Loves a Woman"
2011	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Lydia Kole	Episode: "Father of the Bride"
2012	Life@Large		TV miniseries

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