R.I.P. Lisa Marie Presley, singer, activist, and daughter of Elvis

Lisa Marie Presley died shortly after being admitted to the hospital Thursday afternoon. She was 54.

R.I.P. Lisa Marie Presley, singer, activist, and daughter of Elvis
Photo: Bryan Steffy

Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis, has died, per People. She was 54 years old.

“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” her mother Priscilla Presley shared in a statement to the outlet. “She was the most passionate strong and loving woman I have ever known. We ask for privacy as we try to deal with this profound loss. Thank you for the love and prayers. At this time there will be no further comment.”

The only daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie was born on February 1, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Her father being the King of Rock ’n Roll, her childhood was a whirlwind. He and Priscilla divorced when she was four, and Lisa Marie moved with her mother to Los Angeles. She split her time between L.A. and Memphis until her father’s death in 1977.

Her father’s death was the beginning of a tumultuous adolescence. She dropped out of high school and began abusing drugs, winding up in Scientology’s Celebrity Center rehab facility when she was 17. While in rehab, she met her first husband, musician Danny Keough. The couple were married in 1988 and had two children, Riley and Benjamin, before divorcing in 1994.

20 days after her divorce, Lisa Marie and the late-Michael Jackson eloped in a 15-minute ceremony in Las Vegas. Their brief marriage was a tabloid fascination that they were more than happy to respond to. Presley and Jackson famously kissed on stage at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards after the king of pop declared, “nobody thought this would last.” By December 1995, the couple had split.

Lisa Marie would be married two more times, tying the knot with Nicolas Cage in 2002—though the couple was only together for 108 days—and Michael Lockwood in 2006. She remained with Lockwood until 2006.

Though Lisa Marie recorded her first music demo in 1992, she wouldn’t release an album until 2003's To Whom It May Concern. The album reached number five on the Billboard charts and was certified Gold, selling more than 500,000 copies. She released her final album, Storm & Grace, in 2012.

Just days before her death, Lisa Marie appeared at the Golden Globe Awards with her mother to watch Austin Butler snag a trophy for his portrayal of her dad. In July, she praised the film during a rare appearance on 20/20, saying, “It was such an emotional [experience]… Like Riley said, it just brings up such generational trauma in a good way.”

Our thoughts go out to all of Presley’s loved ones.

 
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