Priscilla Presley has navigated a life marked by both extraordinary fame and profound personal tragedy. From her early years as Elvis Presley's wife to her current role as the keeper of his legacy and dealing with the recent passing of her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla's story is one of resilience, reinvention, and enduring strength. This article explores Priscilla's life, the losses she has endured, and how she continues to shape her own narrative.
The Unbearable Loss of Lisa Marie Presley
The death of Lisa Marie Presley in January 2023 was a devastating blow to Priscilla. Lisa Marie, the sole child of Elvis Presley, passed away at the age of 54 after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest. The autopsy report later revealed that Lisa Marie died of sequelae of small bowel obstruction, a common complication from bariatric surgery, a weight-loss procedure.
Priscilla Presley shared the emotional difficulty of her grief in an interview. She recounted being informed of her daughter's health troubles by Lisa Marie's ex-husband, Danny Keough. "We were there all day long," Priscilla told the magazine of Lisa Marie's hospitalization. "Lisa really wasn't breathing, so she was on the ventilator. For hours we were there waiting, hoping and praying until the doctor came in and said, 'Priscilla, I'm so sorry, she's gone.'" She added, "We just couldn't believe it - didn't want to believe it. It was hard on all of us, it still is."
Echoes of the Past: The Death of Elvis Presley
Lisa Marie's passing stirred echoes of another profound loss in Priscilla's life: the death of Elvis Presley in 1977. Elvis, to whom she was married from 1967 to 1973, died at the age of 42 after being found unresponsive at Graceland. Preliminary autopsy findings determined that the rocker's death was the result of a "cardiac arrhythmia," while a subsequent toxicology report found extremely high levels of opiates in Elvis' blood.
Priscilla has described Lisa Marie's death as "the second saddest day of my life, other than losing Elvis." The Presley family has faced loss over the years, and Priscilla Presley has weathered many of those storms.
Read also: Inside and Out: Priscilla Block's Journey
More Tragedy Strikes: The Loss of Benjamin Keough
Adding to Priscilla's grief, her grandson Benjamin Keough, son of Lisa Marie, died by suicide in 2020 at the age of 27. Meanwhile, Priscilla's son Navarone Garibaldi, whom she shares with ex Marco Garibaldi, has previously struggled with drug addiction. "It hasn't been easy at all," Priscilla reflected.
From Military Brat to Graceland: Priscilla's Early Life
Priscilla Presley's life before Elvis was marked by constant change and a search for stability. In her memoir, "Elvis and Me," Priscilla Presley wrote about the impact of constantly moving, living wherever the Air Force stationed her father. By the time she was 11, they had already averaged a new city every other year, and that understandably made it hard to make friends.
She wrote that she was snooping through family photos and heirlooms as only kids can do when she came across a box, a folded flag, and a photo of her - as a baby - with her mother and a man she didn't recognize. According to biographer Suzanne Finstad's "Child Bride: Priscilla Presley - From Elvis's Teen Lover to Michael Jackson's Mother-in-law," Jimmy Wagner had been planning on spending one last weekend with his parents, young wife, and baby daughter before shipping out. After he was killed in a weather-related plane crash on his way to see them, Presley and her mother stayed near his family for a time.
Biographer Suzanne Finstad paints a dismal picture of life for Priscilla Presley's mother, Ann Wagner. When her friend was interviewed for "Child Bride: Priscilla Presley," she explained: "She was a bride, a mother, and a widow, within a year's time." It's no wonder, then, that she struggled with depression, with jobs she didn't want, but needed, with declining health. Presley was still a baby when her mother started entering her in beautiful baby contests, and even as she struggled to make ends meet with jobs she hated, she hoped that her daughter's beauty would find them a way out. Finstad suggests the entrance of Paul Beaulieu into their lives was one made more of convenience than of immediate love. He was stable, he could provide for them, and he could allow his new wife to focus all her attention on her daughter.
Long before Elvis shimmied onto the national stage, his future bride was already finding that music presented her with a much-needed way to escape a family life that was always sort of vaguely uncomfortable.
Read also: Priscilla Presley's Lifestyle
When her stepfather was stationed there by the military, Priscilla Presley and her family moved to West Germany. They were isolated by language and location: With housing scarce, they were forced to rent an apartment far from other American families.
The Elvis Years: Love, Loss, and Transformation
The story of how it all happened is famous: Spotted by Currie Grant, Priscilla was escorted to Elvis' West German home for a meet-and-greet. Initially, she said, he wanted to know what the music scene was really like and if he'd been forgotten, and after she reassured him that wasn't the case, she wrote that he got honest. He was struggling after the loss of his mother, who died when she was just 46 years old. Not only that, but his father - who had gone to Germany with him - had started seeing someone, a soon-to-be-divorced mother of three.
After moving into Graceland, she found ways to fill the long days that he was gone. For a bit, that involved taking karate lessons, but when she started to feel it didn't make her feminine enough, she opted for ballet instead. The couple bought a half-a-million-dollar home in Holmby Hills, and it fell to her to decorate it. She explained that most of it was "the way he wanted it: antiques, very manly." She described a lot of suede, brass, and gaming tables, adding, "You've got to do what a man likes. Everyone has those things that define them, and for Priscilla Presley, it was always her desire to dress really well. She went on to lament the loss of the idea that when you went out of the house, you dressed up: "We live in a world now that is unbelievable; I don't get it. It seems like people have lost pride. I don't know where dignity is.
According to what Priscilla Presley wrote in her memoir, "Elvis and Me," she wasn't thrilled. The intention to have children was there, but she felt it had all happened way too soon: "I was still uncertain about how my unexpected pregnancy would affect our marriage. … She started out by losing 10 pounds, then restricting herself to a single meal a day, along with the option of an apple or a hard-boiled egg. She stopped eating dairy - thinking she could prevent stretch marks - and wrote that they were still uncertain. They were in Arizona when he asked her if she wanted an abortion, and even after she refused, it was still rocky. Around the 7-month mark, he suggested they split. If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available.
She wrote about how she realized that she was the only one who could change: "From my adolescence, [Elvis] had fashioned me into the instrument of his will.
Read also: Beauty and Wellness with Piper Presley
Life After Elvis: Finding Her Own Identity
After her divorce from Elvis, Priscilla Presley did move on. While they were together, most of her clothes were designed by a friend named Olivia Bis, so the next logical step? Opening a boutique together, named Bis & Beau. Presley described the pride she'd felt not only in the clothes but a customer base that included big names like Barbra Streisand.
Her next long-term relationship was complicated, though, and according to Suzanne Finstad's "Child Bride: Priscilla Presley," the tabloids had a field day when she and new beau Marco Garibaldi were photographed getting up close and personal in Brazil. Garibaldi told stories of a life that 100% sounds like something out of a Netflix movie: He was a screenwriter and a director, and he had been recruited into a top-secret intelligence agency when he was younger. Fast forward just a bit and Presley stayed in the headlines with the announcement that she was pregnant. Still, those same tabloids had other things to say, uncovering an ex-wife who claimed everything her fiance said was a lie, including his name. Presley called off the planned wedding, but the couple stayed together.
Those who end up getting involved in Scientology tend to stay involved in Scientology, and Priscilla Presley has been a devout follower for decades. According to Suzanne Finstad's "Child Bride: Priscilla Presley," her involvement with the church started around Lisa Marie Presley's birthday in 1978. She liked the idea of a science-based faith, saying "He told me … how there's a strong ethical bond with the universe. … So, I joined.
Priscilla Presley: The Guardian of Elvis's Legacy
After Elvis's death, Priscilla took on the role of preserving and promoting his legacy. She transformed Graceland into a museum, a major tourist attraction that continues to draw fans from around the world. She incorporated Elvis Presley Enterprises, which runs Graceland as a museum and controls commercial rights to his image; her book, the DVD and a new set of CDs are the latest attempts to perpetuate the franchise.
Words of wisdom
Priscilla Block has likely received tons of advice from various individuals while climbing up the ladder as a county artist. Not Elvis giving Priscilla advice. Like, come on. Plus, despite Elvis’ advice, it’s safe to say that Block has been able to build a very successful career just by being her authentic self. And she will continue to see growth both personally and professionally, as she has decided to dedicate 2025 to the year of bettering herself. For her, this looks like saying no to people, food, opportunities and anything else that doesn’t serve her positively, as well as honing in on her health journey which she has been sharing candidly online with her fanbase.