Elvis’ only child dies at the age of 54
Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley’s only child, has died at the age of 54.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter, Lisa Marie, has left us,” Priscilla Presley said in a statement to the Associated Press. “She was the most passionate, strong, and loving woman I’ve ever known.”
A statement sent to USA TODAY on behalf of Priscilla and Presley’s family expressed their shock over the “tragic death of their beloved Lisa Marie. They are so grateful for the support, love, and prayers from everyone, and ask for privacy during this incredibly difficult time.”
Presley started the week in a celebratory mood, first celebrating what would have been her dad’s 88th birthday with fans at Elvis’ Memphis home, Graceland, and then tearfully applauding alongside her mom as Austin Butler took home a Golden Globe for his portrayal of King of Rock. ‘n’ Roll in Baz Luhrmann’s biopic “Elvis”.
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But on Thursday, she suffered an apparent cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas, just north of Los Angeles, and was taken to a local hospital, According to TMZ, the first to report the news. She died hours later.
Although Presley was famous from the moment she was born and a singer in her own right, releasing three albums, she was truly catapulted into a pop culture maelstrom with her sudden marriage to embattled pop star Michael Jackson and, later, Elvis lover and actor Nicolas Cage. . .
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These two marriages were short-lived, though the more enduring ones brought four children, including her son, Benjamin Keough, who died by suicide in 2020 and was buried at Graceland.
Mostly, Presley, with her hooded eyes and smoldering look so distinctly reminiscent of Elvis, became largely known as the custodian of his legacy and heir to his estate.
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Lisa Marie Presley recently celebrated Elvis’ 88th birthday with fans at Graceland
Four days before her death, Presley was at Graceland helping fans celebrate her father’s 88th birthday.
“It’s been a long time. I’ve missed you,” she told the crowd on Sunday. “I keep saying you’re the only person who can get me out of my house. I’m not kidding.”
Two nights earlier, Butler had thanked her from the Golden Globes stage for her dedication to honoring her father.
“Thank you for opening your hearts, your memories, and your home to me,” he told the Presleys in his acceptance speech. “Lisa Marie, Priscilla, I love you forever.”
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Lisa Marie Presley grew up in the shadow of her father’s fame—her name even adorned his plane—until her parents’ divorce in 1973. She seemed destined to lead a life in the public eye, thanks to looks that mirrored those of her and her father’s. Outstanding singing voice.
Despite being the only child of a global icon, Presley sometimes seemed to wonder what all the fuss was about.
“I thought it was an amusing idea, but I didn’t really see how other people would find it interesting,” she told USA TODAY in 2012, discussing a new exhibit for Graceland called “Elvis… Through His Daughter’s Eyes.”
Among the most impactful personal effects were a bluesy record player who rolled out her first 45, stamped her footprints into a hospital birth record, and recreated Presley’s nursery. “It’s all personal and subjective,” she said. “But it turned out to be pretty good.”
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Her shocking marriage to Michael Jackson
She made waves in pop culture in 1994 when she divorced musician Danny Keough, the father of her two children Riley and Benjamin, and married Jackson. Less than two years later, they divorced, though Presley remained a staunch defender throughout the years of child abuse accusations against the star.
She married Cage in 2002, but that only lasted a few months before they separated. In 2006, she married guitarist Michael Lockwood. They divorced in 2021 and have two daughters together, Finlay and Harper, 11.
If Presley found solace in the storm of being Elvis’ only child, it was out in Kent, a rural suburb in southeast London that captured much of her time and her heart nearly a decade ago.
Speaking to USA TODAY in 2012 ahead of the release of her album “Storm & Grace,” Presley said she was excited to return to her not-so-celebrity life in England.
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“I just love it there,” she said. “I work in the garden, I take long walks, I cook. I have really nice neighbours–we’ll meet often at the local pub. Not that we can keep up with them there. It’s so much fun, even though it’s where you see everyone from the village.” “.
In that same interview, Presley spoke of feeling emotionally and financially robbed by those closest to her.
“I slowly started to self-destruct, and I didn’t know where that was coming from,” Presley told USA TODAY, and suggested the damage was both personal and professional. “I was given bad advice. I was cut off from reality. They were taking my soul, my money, everything.”
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Presley’s demons also included drug addiction. In 2019, she detailed her opioid dependence in a foreword to the book The United States Off Opiates: A Prescription for Freeing a Nation in Pain.
Noting that she felt “grateful to be alive,” Presley said the painkillers prescribed after the birth of her twins eventually led to a full-blown addiction.
“It’s a difficult path to overcome this dependence, and to put my life back together,” she wrote. “Even in recent years, I’ve seen so many people I love struggle with addiction and die tragically from this epidemic. It’s time to say goodbye to the shame of addiction. We have to stop blaming and judging ourselves and the people around us… This starts with sharing our stories” .
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Presley will have to face a different kind of pain in 2020, when her 27-year-old son dies by suicide. Last fall, in honor of National Grief Awareness Day, Presley Wrote an article for people About the pain her family has experienced since her son’s death.
“My daughters life and my three daughters life as we knew it were completely imploded and destroyed by his death. We are living in this all. Single. Today,” she wrote. Grief is something you have to carry with you for the rest of your life, despite what some people or our culture would like us to believe. You don’t “get over it,” you don’t “move on,” period.
In the end, Presley might have found the peace she’s sought her entire life if only she’d been able to spend more time in the place she truly called home.
“I love Graceland, my heart will always be there,” she told USA TODAY in 2012.
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