We Finally Know Tawny Kitaen's Cause Of Death

Actor and music video legend Tawny Kitaen died on May 7 at 59 years old, with the cause of death unknown at the time. Kitaen (whose real first name was Julie), made a name for herself in the heavy metal scene of the '80s by appearing on the cover of two album covers for the band RATT, the second of which went triple-platinum, per Variety. 

She later became a famous music video mainstay who starred in legendary music videos such as Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again," and "Is This Love." Kitaen parlayed that success into an acting career, as she appeared in various films including "Bachelor Party," and "Witchboard," and even snagged a spot as Jerry's girlfriend in an episode of "Seinfeld" in 1991, per IMDb.

In 1989, Kitaen married the lead singer of Whitesnake, David Coverdale, but the two divorced in 1991, per Variety. By 1997, she married MLB star Chuck Finley, and the two had two daughters together. Unfortunately, after her marriage to Finley ended in 2002, the actor fell into an unhealthy relationship which resulted in her turning to cocaine use. "I tried it and I went on a run for about six months ... hard," she told the Daily Pilot in 2010. Kitaen was arrested for cocaine possession in 2007, and entered a six-month rehab program in lieu of jail time, per Reuters. The following year, she appeared on "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" and worked on turning her life around. But back to what happened.

It took five months, but Tawny Kitaen's cause of death has been revealed. According to the Orange County Coroner's Office, Kitaen died from a heart disease known as dilated cardiomyopathy, per People. She also had multiple prescription drugs in her system including antidepressants and opioids, per Page Six. "Other contributing factors included clogged arteries, antidepressants, sedatives, nerve pain medication and opioids," they wrote.

Adding to the tragedy is that just two weeks before her untimely death, the '80s video icon revealed she was writing a memoir. "So I'm in the middle of writing a book right now, because if I don't write my life story, somebody else is going to, and they're going to do it off of sound clips, that aren't true and aren't real about me," Kitaen said while appearing on the "Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef" podcast (via The Sun). The actor did not want tabloid headlines to be her legacy. "So it's really, really important that I get my book out," she said.

Although Kitaen and her ex-husband, Chuck Finley, had a tumultuous marriage, the two maintained a solid relationship while co-parenting their two daughters. "Tawny has had an amazing journey since the first time I met her," he told the Daily Pilot in 2010. "And though there have been bumps in the road, which we all experience, I could not be more proud of where and who she is today," Finley added.