I’ve spent the entire day processing the loss of Tawny Kitaen. Though I never got to know her on a deeply personal level, her existence alone deeply impacted the woman I’ve grown to be. Tawny is one of the first names that come to mind when discussing video vixens – a seemingly extinct profession I’ve fantasized about since childhood. Despite never being in a band, her name is more well known than most of the members of the bands she modelled for. She was an icon, through and through. I’ve been meaning to write about her for a long while now; A dream of mine was to interview all these ‘80s heavy metal babes, which unfortunately can no longer be brought to fruition. All I can do is mourn the loss of someone that helped me become whole, and champion her legacy.

If you’re taking the time to read this, I am almost certain you’re already familiar, however a brief summation for those that may be new – Tawny is most famously known as the red-headed beauty dancing on the hood of a couple of Jaguar XJS’ in Whitesnake’s ‘Here I Go Again’ music video. She appeared in several more Whitesnake videos, ‘The Deeper the Love’ being her personal favourite of the bunch.

Aside from Whitesnake, her presence in Ratt history is also notable. Former Ratt guitarist, Robbin Crosby (RIP), was her first love whom she never stopped speaking fondly of. She appeared as the legs on their self-titled EP, and dawned the cover of their first full-length, Out of the Cellar. She also appeared in the ‘Back For More’ music video.

Most of the aforementioned information is common knowledge, as well as the fact that she was an actress as well. Appearing in notable cult classics including The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak (1984), Witchboard (1986), and Bachelor Party (1985), her film career was brief but significant. She was more than a pretty face rockers liked to use for their aesthetics, she was also incredibly talented and likeable.

I hadn’t had the opportunity to ever meet Tawny, however I was fortunate enough to speak with her on a handful of occasions. After I posed for the first album cover I appeared on, I reached out to her to let her know that she was the sole point of reference I had given the photographer and that I was only hoping to make her proud. She was incredibly kind, and complimentary – she built me up, which is absolutely insane to me given that a woman of such beauty and stature needn’t validate insignifcant strangers on the Internet such as myself.

Even had I not had these personal anecdotes, the loss of Tawny serves as a severance of the past from present for me. I’ve attempted to ignore the modern world in efforts to create this small little echo chamber centring on heavy metal and big haired beauties, but alas that is a point of time long-gone that I’ll unfortunately never get to witness firsthand.

Some have cried about sexism in ‘80s metal, but what those fun-hating folks need to realize is that these women had their fun, too. Tawny is an everlasting force not to be reckoned with, and I’ve garnered more respect for her than I’ve ever had for any member of Mötley Crüe. We truly lost an icon, and the saddest part for me is that we no longer are situated in a way that allows for another video vixen to fill her heels.

So while I’m on this pedestal, I just wanna ask something of y’all – make beautiful women icons again, especially in the heavy metal realm. Tawny wasn’t so strongly adored for no reason, y’know? She will be sorely missed, and I will never allow her absence to hinder me trying to make her proud in more ways than simply dancing on the hoods of my friends’ shitty cars after a nice bottle of tequila.

Rest In Peace, Tawny. Thank you for all your contributions to both the film and music industry, and for the kind words you shared with me when you had zero obligation to do so. In the words of Vandenberg – You’re once in a lifetime; One in a million.