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80s music video icon Tawny Kitaen has died at age 59

If you spent hours watching music videos in back in the 80s, the clip for Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” was unavoidable. And the thing that made it ultra-popular back in the day was the appearance of model Tawny Kitaen.

Although she appeared in a variety of videos and on an album cover or two, this is the video on which her fame was built.

Those with new-fangled VCRs might have even discovered the nip slip that evaded everyone associated with the video, including MTV and MuchMusic.

Kitaen, who also worked as an actress (she’s in the Seinfeld episode, “The Nose Job,”) married Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale in 1989 but divorced in 1991. She had some rocky times after that: coke charges, impaired driving, and spousal abuse.

Word came yesterday that Kitaen (whose real name was Julie) had died at her home in Newport Beach, California. No cause of death has been revealed.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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One thought on “80s music video icon Tawny Kitaen has died at age 59

  • I remembet watching ms kitaen in bachelor party. As well as whitesnake videos. May she rest in Eternal Peace.

    Reply

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