Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley’s only daughter, has died aged 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, loving woman I have ever known.”
A statement sent to USA TODAY on behalf of Priscilla and the Presley family expressed shock at “the tragic death of your beloved Lisa Marie. They are deeply grateful for everyone’s support, love and prayers, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”
Presley started the week in a festive mood, first celebrating what would have been his father’s 88th birthday with fans at Elvis’ Memphis home, Graceland, and then cheering tearfully alongside his mother as Austin Butler received a Globe from Gold for his portrayal of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll in Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” biopic.
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But on Thursday, she apparently suffered a cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas, north of Los Angeles, and was taken to a local hospital, according to TMZ, the first to report the news. She died hours later.
Though Presley was famous from the moment she was born and a singer in her own right, releasing three albums, she really jumped into the pop culture vortex with her surprise marriage to pop superstar Michael Jackson and, later, Elvis aficionado and actor Nicolas Cage. .
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Both marriages were short-lived, although longer-lasting unions produced four children, including their son, Benjamin Keough, who committed suicide in 2020 and is buried at Graceland.
Mainly, Presley, with her hooded eyes and fiery gaze that clearly recalled Elvis, became widely known as the guardian of his legacy and heiress to his estate.
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Lisa Marie Presley recently celebrated Elvis’ 88th birthday with fans at Graceland
Four days before his death, Presley was at Graceland to help fans celebrate what would have been his father’s 88th birthday.
“It’s been awhile. I missed you,” she told the crowd on Sunday. “I keep saying you’re the only people who can get me out of the house. I’m not kidding.”
Two nights ago, Butler thanked her onstage at the Golden Globes for her dedication to honoring her father.
“Thank you for opening your hearts, your memories, 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 jet – until her parents’ divorce in 1973. She seemed destined to lead a life in the public eye, thanks to looks that mirrored her father’s. and a remarkable singing voice to match.
Despite being the only child of a global icon, Presley sometimes seemed to wonder what all the fuss was about her about.
“I thought it was a fun idea, but I really didn’t see how other people would find it interesting,” she told USA TODAY in 2012, discussing a new Graceland exhibit called “Elvis…Through His Daughter’s Eyes.”
Among the most touching personal effects were a blue record player that spun his first 45s, his footprints stamped on a hospital birth record, and a recreation of Presley’s nursery. “It’s all so personal and subjective,” she said. “But it turned out well.”
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Her shocking marriage to Michael Jackson
She made waves in pop culture in 1994 when she divorced musician Danny Keough, father of her children Riley and Benjamin, and married Jackson. Less than two years later, they were divorced, although Presley remained a staunch supporter over the years of child abuse allegations leveled against the star.
She married Cage in 2002, but that only lasted a few months before they split. In 2006, she married guitarist Michael Lockwood; they divorced in 2021 and have twin daughters, Finley and Harper, 11.
If Presley found solace amid the storm of being Elvis’ only child, it was abroad in Kent, a bucolic English suburb southeast of London that claimed much of her time and heart nearly a decade ago.
Speaking to USA TODAY in 2012 ahead of the release of his “Storm & Grace” album, Presley said he was looking forward to getting back to his non-celebrity life in England.
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“I just love it there,” she said. “I do gardening, take long walks, cook. I have very dear neighbors – we often meet at the local pub. Not that we can join them there. It’s so much fun though, it’s where you see everyone from the village.”
In the same interview, Presley spoke about feeling emotionally and fiscally ripped off by his closest confidants.
“I was slowly starting to self-destruct and I didn’t know where that was coming from,” Presley told USA TODAY, and suggested that the damage was both personal and professional. “I got bad advice. I was isolated and unaware of reality. They were taking my soul, my money, my everything.”
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Presley’s demons also included drug addiction. In 2019, she detailed her dependence on opioids in the foreword to the book “The United States of Opioids: A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain”.
Noting that she felt “grateful to be alive”, Presley said that the painkillers prescribed after the birth of her twins eventually led to a full-blown addiction.
“It’s been a tough road to overcome this dependency and put my life back together,” she wrote. “Even in the last few years, I’ve seen many people I loved struggling with addiction and tragically dying 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. … It starts with sharing our stories.”
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Presley would be forced to face a different kind of grief in 2020 when her 27-year-old son died by suicide. Last fall, in honor of National Grief Awareness Day, Presley wrote an essay for People about the grief his family has been dealing with since the death of their son.
“My three daughters’ lives as we knew them were completely shattered and shattered by her death. We live it each. Not married. Day,” she wrote. “Grief is something you will have to carry with you for the rest of your life, despite what certain people or our culture would have us believe. You don’t ‘get over it,’ you don’t ‘move on,’ period.”
In the end, Presley might well have found the peace she sought throughout her life had she spent more time in the place she truly called home.
“I love Graceland,” she told USA TODAY in 2012. “My heart will always be there.”
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