Born Julie Kitaen, Tawny began using her current name when she was 12 years old completely by of her own choice. This San Diego-born actress started her career in modeling and then went on to play a minor role in a movie made for television, the 1983 drama Malibu. In 1984, she starred opposite Tom Hanks in the comedy Bachelor Party, where she played the role of Hanks' bride-to-be. After this role, she began to associate herself with the glam metal scene, appearing on several album covers and in music videos, most notably the 1987 Whitesnake single “Here I Go Again” video, where she appeared on the hood of a Jaguar wearing nothing but a white, flimsy negligee.  After her brief movie stint and notorious music video appearances, Kitaen then ventured into television, co-hosting America's Funniest Home Videos from 1992 to 1994, and guest-starring in a 1991 Seinfeld episode. Along with her colorful love life, Kitaen likewise had numerous brushes with the law after being arrested several times. First in 2001 for allegedly vandalizing another man's car, then for physically abusing her husband, and finally in 2006, for possession of cocaine. 

In 2006, Kitaen was cast in VH1 reality show The Surreal Life season 6. The show features celebrities who are said to have been past their primes and puts them in a Hollywood Hills mansion for two weeks, all while being followed by an unforgiving camera that aimed to capture their every move. Arguably one of the most explosive characters in the mansion, in one episode, Kitaen lashed out on the show's on-call sex therapist Florence “Mrs. Brady” Henderson in what she said was an attempt to reveal her true identity. And in the season finale, Kitaen finally lost it and went skinny-dipping when a phone call informed her of two-timing fiancé's infidelity. In season 6, the cast was made to shoot a music video, produce and broadcast a live news program, host their own talk show, and participate in a battle of the bands competition.