From Dancing on Cars to Cult Films and Reality TV: The Wild Life of ’80s Video Vixen Tawny Kitaen
Learn who was supposed to star in the 'Here I Go Again' music video before Kitaen stepped in
The 1987 Whitesnake anthem “Here I Go Again” was one of the rock songs that defined the era, and its success can be attributed in large part to its legendary music video, which featured actress Tawny Kitaen pulling off some seriously impressive moves atop the hood of a Jaguar. The video was an MTV staple and gave the British band their first and only number-one hit.
Kitaen became the dream girl for many an ’80s boy, and when she sadly passed away at 59 in 2021, the video was mentioned at the top of every obituary. It may surprise you to learn that Kitaen had a long and varied career before and after the video, and her personal life was at times scandalous. Read on for a deep dive into the life of the ultimate video vixen.
Tawny Kitaen’s pre-music video career
Tawny Kitaen was born Julie Kitaen (Tawny was a childhood nickname that stuck) and began her career modeling and appearing in commercials for Jack LaLanne’s European Health Spas in the early ’80s. She was then featured on two album covers for the metal band Ratt, as she was dating the band’s guitarist at the time.
Kitaen soon made the transition from modeling to acting, and had her film debut as the title character in the campy 1984 adventure movie The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak. That same year, she also played Tom Hanks’ fiancée in the raunchy comedy Bachelor Party. In 1986, she played a rock star in Crystal Heart, a prostitute in Instant Justice, a gun-toting sidekick in Happy Hour and a woman who gets caught up in supernatural scares via Ouija board in Witchboard.
How Tawny Kitaen became the “Here I Go Again” girl
Kitaen made her music video debut in 1984, with an appearance in Ratt’s “Back for More.” In 1987, she appeared in not one but three Whitesnake videos, “Still of the Night,” “Is This Love” and of course, “Here I Go Again.”
While Kitaen’s voluminous red mane, dimpled smile and effervescent energy were the perfect fit for the video, she surprisingly wasn’t the first choice. In an interview, Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale revealed that originally German supermodel-to-be Claudia Schiffer was supposed to star, but the casting fell apart at the last minute.
Coverdale was dating Kitaen at the time, and right before they went out for dinner, the video’s director, Marty Callner, told him there was an emergency. Coverdale showed up at Callner’s door with Kitaen in tow, and the director took one look at her and found the girl for the job.
Callner knew Kitaen had the looks for the video, but once he started shooting it, he brought in choreographer and future pop star Paula Abdul to make sure she had the moves. Kitaen had trained in ballet and gymnastics for years, and after Abdul asked her to show what she could do, she was so impressed that she told Callner, “She’s got this and doesn’t need me,” and left. Kitaen ended up improvising all her moves, and the rest is MTV history.
Life after ‘Here I Go Again’
In 1989, two years after “Here I Go Again,” Kitaen and Coverdale got married, and she appeared in videos for two more of their songs, “Fool for Your Loving” and “The Deeper the Love.” Kitaen and Coverdale were a late-’80s power couple, but their marriage didn’t last, and they divorced in 1991.
Kitaen continued to act after her days as a music video muse, with a recurring role in the soap opera Santa Barbara in 1989 and memorable appearances as Jerry’s girlfriend in a 1991 episode of Seinfeld and a model in a 1994 episode of Married . . . With Children. In 1991 she began starring as a sexy DJ in the sitcom spinoff The New WKRP in Cincinnati, but she left during the show’s second and final season.
As the decade progressed, Kitaen appeared in a series of 1994 Hercules TV movies and low-budget thrillers like Playback and Dead Tides (both 1996). She also voiced one of the cats in the cartoon Eek! The Cat from 1992 to 1995.
After that, Kitaen was in an episode of CSI in 2011 and she starred in the mockumentary series Moms Anonymous. She made her final film appearance in the 2014 thriller After Midnight.
Tawny Kitean’s turbulent personal life
During the ’00s reality TV boom, Kitaen was in the cast of The Surreal Life and Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew. She struggled with addiction and was charged for cocaine possession and driving under the influence, and the spectacle of reality TV only seemed to exacerbate her personal battles.
Kitaen’s love life was also difficult. After divorcing Coverdale, she had an affair with O.J. Simpson prior to Nicole Brown Simpson’s murder. In 1997, she married baseball player Chuck Finley and had two daughters, Wynter and Raine. Their marriage ended in 2002, when she was charged with committing domestic violence. The case was dropped after she attended mandatory counseling, and she went on to volunteer at a women’s shelter.
In 2021, Kitaen died of heart failure. At the time of her death, she was preparing to write a memoir. In a 2010 Los Angeles Times interview, she admitted, “I’ve been around the block a few times. There is still a lot to learn but I’ve learned a lot in my life through error.” Clearly, Kitaen’s life wasn’t always easy, but she’ll forever be remembered for how she perfectly embodied carefree glamour in the “Here I Go Again” video.
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