BREAKING NEWS: Tawny Kitaen, former child star who appeared alongside Tom Hanks in Bachelor Party, dies aged 59 in California after spending her later years on reality shows including Botched and Celebrity Rehab
- Kitaen, who has battled substance abuse in the past, died in her home in Newport Beach Friday morning
- The Orange County coroner’s office has not yet revealed a cause of death
- Kitaen, real name Julie E. Kitaen, is known for her role in the 1984 movie Bachelor Party where she starred alongside Tom Hanks
- Kitean’s personal life also hit headlines with allegations of an affair with OJ Simpson and a history of addiction
Child star and Bachelor Party actor Tawny Kitaen has died aged 59 in California.
Kitaen, who has battled substance abuse in the past and spent her later years in reality shows including Celebrity Rehab, died in her home in Newport Beach Friday morning.
The Orange County coroner’s office, which identified her as Tawny Finley, has not yet revealed a cause of death.
Kitaen, real name Julie E. Kitaen, is best known for her appearances in rock music videos and for her role in the 1984 hit movie Bachelor Party where she starred alongside Tom Hanks.
Aside from her work, Kitaen’s personal life also hit headlines with rumors of an affair with OJ Simpson, a history of addiction and brushes with the law.
Child star and Bachelor Party actor Tawny Kitaen has died aged 59 in California (pictured in 2018)
Pictured in 1986. Kitaen, who has battled substance abuse in the past and spent her later years in reality shows including Celebrity Rehab, died in her home in Newport Beach Friday morning
Kitaen posted on social media just one day before her death, thanking a fan for a drawing.
Kitaen was born in San Diego, California, and caught the Hollywood bug at a young age.
Her road to fame began in 1976 when she starred in the game show To Tell the Truth as a teen.
She then bagged a role in the 1983 TV show Malibu playing Mahoney’s girlfriend.
From there she went on to star in several films including Bachelor Party, After Midnight and The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak.
She also landed several gigs in rock music videos including for British rock band Whitesnake and American band RATT.
Her personal life was notoriously rocky.
During filming for Whitesnake’s videos she met and started dating the band’s lead singer David Coverdale.
Tawny Kitaen with Robby Benson in Crack In The Mirror. She died Friday in California
The couple wed in 1989 but the marriage was short-lived, with them parting ways in 1991.
Kitaen went on to allegedly have an affair with OJ Simpson when he was married to Nicole Brown Simpson.
Nicole was brutally murdered in 1994 alongside Ron Goldman.
In an explosive documentary in 2016, one of Nicole’s closest friends claimed OJ told Nicole about his affair with Kitaen and told her he had strayed because she got fat after giving birth to his children.
‘He was pretty darn brazen. He blamed his affair with Tawny Kitaen on the fact that Nicole got fat when she was pregnant and he didn’t want to have sex with her,’ Nicole’s friend said.
Kitaen then met and married baseball star Chuck Finley in 1997 and they had two children together – Wynter Merin Finley, 28, and Raine Finley, 22.
The couple split up in 2002.
More recently, she has had various stints on reality TV shows including Botched, The Surreal Life and Celebrity Rehab with Dr Drew.
Kitaen has spoken in the past about her troubles with substance abuse.