the influence (DUI) in Newport Beach, California. The following July, she pleaded no contest to misdemeanor DUI and was sentenced to two days in jail, ordered to attend a first-offender alcohol program and required to perform 64 hours of community service. On July 22, 2019, Kitaen was again arrested for DUI in Newport Beach. She was formally charged with a misdemeanor related to the arrest on October 22 of that year. Kitaen pleaded not guilty and was scheduled for a pretrial hearing on May 18, 2021. However, she died before the hearing could take place. If convicted, Kitaen could have been incarcerated. Death Kitaen died at her Newport Beach home on May 7, 2021, at the age of 59. She had been working with author and historian Colin Heaton on her memoirs for the past year. Kitaen's death was confirmed to The New York Times by her daughter Wynter Finley, who told the paper that the cause of death was not immediately known. Police reported that nothing at the scene indicated alcohol or drugs as a factor in the death. The Orange County coroner's office declared it a "residential death", without further details. In October 2021, the Orange County coroner's office announced Kitaen's official cause of death was dilated cardiomyopathy, a common type of heart disease. Other contributing factors to her death included mild coronary atherosclerosis and ingestion of mirtazapine, alprazolam, acetaminophen, pregabalin, and hydrocodone. Filmography Film Television Music videos References External links 1961 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from San Diego American film actresses American people of Irish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American people of Scottish descent American television actresses Television personalities from California American women television personalities American voice actresses Female models from California Jewish American actresses Participants in American reality television series People from San Juan Capistrano, California People with dyslexia 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews Deaths from cardiomyopathy Drug-related deaths in California