R.I.P.: Tawny Kitaen of Witchboard has passed away at age 59

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Some sad, shocking news broke over the weekend when it was revealed that Tawny Kitaen passed away at her home in Newport Beach on Friday at the way-too-young age of 59. A cause of death has not been given. Kitaen's daughters Wynter and Raine confirmed their mother's passing with an Instagram post in which they said, 

We are heartbroken and saddened to announce the death of our mom. We just want to say thank you for all of you, her fans and her friends, for always showing her such support and love. You gave her life every day. We miss her and love her and we know her legacy will live on forever.

Born Julie Kitaen in San Diego in 1961, Kitaen started going by the nickname Tawny when she was 12. In the early '80s, she began modeling and appearing in commercials, and was also featured on the covers of the band Ratt's debut EP and their first studio album Out of the Cellar because she was dating Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby.

Kitaen made her acting debut with the TV movie Malibu in 1983, and followed that up with the films she's best known for to this day: 1984's Bachelor Party and Gwendoline, and the 1986 horror classic Witchboard.

In addition to those films, Kitaen gained popularity as the "Whitesnake Girl", since she was in multiple Whitesnake videos throughout the '80s, most famously the video for "Here I Go Again", which had her crawling on the hoods of a couple Jaguars. 

Kitaen also appeared on an episode of Seinfeld and co-hosted America's Funniest People with Dave Coulier from 1992 to 1994. She was married to Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale from 1989 to 1991, and had her daughters with baseball player Chuck Finley, to whom she was married from 1997 to 2002.

Witchboard is one of my favorite horror movies, and I've always thought Kitaen did a great job playing her character Linda, who gets targeted and manipulated by an evil spirit. Witchboard writer/director Kevin S. Tenney took to social media to share a tribute to Kitaen:

Our sincere condolences go out to her family, friends, and fans.