Although this '80s sex kitten ushered many a boy into puberty by writhing around in lingerie on the hood of a car in Whitesnake's video "Here I Go Again," she would have faded away into pop-culture oblivion if it weren't for her well-publicized drug problems and run-ins with the law. After doing small parts on TV and in films (she was Tom Hanks' bride-to-be in
Bachelor Party), this former model became a hair-metal hottie and was briefly wed to Whitesnake front man David Coverdale. In the '90s, she snagged a few low-rent acting gigs (cohost of
America's Funniest People, recurring roles on
The New WKRP in Cincinnati and
Hercules) but was more famous for beating up her second hubby, baseball pitcher Chick Finley, with a high-heeled shoe. When he filed for divorce, Kitaen admitted to drug problems and was required to undergo substance abuse and anger-management counseling. After being out of the public eye for a couple of years, she made a messy return in 2006 when she signed on to VH1's "celebreality" show
The Surreal Life. Erratic, drug-addled, flirtatious and angry (she verbally attacked
Brady Bunch matriarch Florence Henderson), Kitaen alienated almost all of her housemates, along with most viewers. While she repeatedly claimed that she was sober, in November of that same year she was arrested for cocaine possession.
Tawny Kitaen Fast Facts:
- Appeared on the cover of metal band Ratt's 1984 album Out of the Cellar.
- Starred in the Whitesnake videos "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love?"
- Featured in the 1999 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue with then-husband Chuck Finley.
- Tawny Kitaen Relationships:
- Chuck Finley - Ex-husband
- David Coverdale - Ex-husband
- Linda Taylor Kitaen - Mother
- Raine Finley - Daughter
- Terry Kitaen - Father
- Wynter Merin Finley - Daughter
