The rock 'n' roll scene of the 1980s and 1990s evokes images of neon clothing, guys with wild teased hair — and that girl who starred in the Warrant music video for the song “Cherry Pie.” Bobbie Brown, an actress from Louisiana, became an overnight success after whipping around her bleached-blond hair and gyrating on a red, lips-shaped love seat, wearing a sports bra and Daisy Duke shorts in the 1990 video. Shortly after, she plummeted into a dangerous world of sex, drugs, and rock stars. Now 44, Brown has chronicled her wild journey in an upcoming book called "Dirty Rocker Boys."
Brown recounted in a New York Post piece on Thursday that in 1990, Warrant singer Jani Lane hand-selected her to star in the band’s “Cherry Pie” music video when she was only 22 years old. Having lived in Los Angeles for a few years by that point, Brown was accustomed to hanging out with rock stars — at the time, she was competing on the talent competition show “Star Search," was dating Matthew Nelson of the band Nelson, and was a regular on the L.A. club scene. But when Lane began pursing her, Brown broke up with Nelson, and she and Lane quickly became an item, had a daughter, and tied the knot.
However, Brown said their three-year marriage was riddled with violence, alcohol, drug abuse, and infidelity, and she left Lane, bouncing from one rock star to the next. She was briefly engaged to Tommy Lee, the drummer for the rock band Mötley Crüe (before he allegedly left her for actress Pamela Anderson), actor Leonardo DiCaprio, singer Mark McGrath of the band Sugar Ray, and Dave Navarro, guitarist for Jane’s Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Along the way, she became an absentee mother to her daughter, now a 22-year-old college student.
After her whirlwind romances, Brown finally entered rehab for a drug addiction, repaired her relationship with her daughter, and got a job as an executive assistant. Now single, Brown is still living in Los Angeles and is a contestant on the Fuse network reality show “Ex-Wives of Rock.”
While Brown’s story may be unusual, her happy ending isn’t. Many former video vixens who bed or wed rock stars faced similar challenges — drugs, alcohol, infidelity — yet many eventually settled into healthy and stable lives, if they didn't outright fade into obscurity. For example, Lillian Müller, 62, who strutted a stage wearing a blue bikini in the music video for “Hot for Teacher,” the 1984 hit by Van Halen, is currently an author and motivational speaker. And Jeana Keough, 58, a former Playboy model who appeared in music videos for the songs, “Gimme All Your Lovin” and “Legs” by ZZ Top, is a mother of three, was an original castmember of “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” and currently works as a real-estate-agent. Meanwhile, Tawny Kitaen, now 52, became famous in the 1980s after rolling around the hoods of two Jaguars wearing a white teddy in the music video for the songs “Here I Go Again” and dancing in heels and a negligee in the “Is This Love” video, both by the rock band Whitesnake. After two failed marriages, Kitaen got arrested for cocaine possession, became addicted to prescription pills, and appeared on Season 2 of the reality show “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew” in 2008.
As for Brown, she plans on staying on the straight and narrow the second time around. "I may be back in the spotlight, but I’m doing it different this time," she says in the Post article. "It took me 20 years, but I finally have a goal for myself — to be secure and have success and financial security for my family."
Gregg Doyel flashed a heart sign at Caitlin Clark at her introductory press conference on Wednesday afternoon to kick off an incredibly strange back-and-forth.
