Lisa Marie Presley Dead at 54: Elvis’ Daughter Remembered
Samantha Bergeson
Music royalty Lisa Marie Presley has passed away.
The singer-songwriter and sole child of Elvis Presley died following a cardiac arrest in January 2023. Presley was 54 years old. TMZ first reported that Presley was treated with CPR on January 12 after paramedics were called to her home in Calabasas, California. She was transported to a hospital, where she later died.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” mother Priscilla Presley confirmed in a statement to People on Thursday. “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.”
Presley is survived by her mother, Priscilla, and actress daughter Riley Keough, as well as her two daughters Harper and Finley Lockwood. Her son Benjamin Keough died by suicide in 2020.
Presley opened up in August 2022 on National Grief Awareness Day that she struggled coping with life without her son Benjamin.
“It’s a real choice to keep going, one that I have to make every single day and one that is constantly challenging to say the least. But I keep going for my girls,” Presley wrote in an essay for People magazine. “I keep going because my son made it very clear in his final moments that taking care of his little sisters and looking out for them were on the forefront of his concerns and his mind. He absolutely adored them and they him.”
Singer-songwriter Presley released her first album “To Whom It May Concern” in 2003, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 album charts and was later certified gold. Presley penned all the lyrics for the album, only co-writing one track with Gus Black. She also collaborated with Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan for song “Savior.” Presley unveiled a “duet” with her late father Elvis in 2007 using vintage footage.
A lifelong philanthropist, Presley predominantly sang in charity concerts and benefits. Her famous music videos included “In the Ghetto” directed by “American History X” helmer Tony Kaye and featured scenes from a Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. The single and music video benefited a new Presley Place transitional housing campus in the Louisiana city. She also famously appeared in Michael Jackson’s music video “You Are Not Alone” and later married the King of Pop.
In addition to Jackson, Presley was wed to Nicolas Cage, music producer Michael Lockwood, and musician Danny Keough.
Presley recently collaborated with filmmaker Baz Luhrmann for biopic “Elvis.” She praised the film for being “absolutely exquisite” and urged the Academy Awards to recognize lead actor Austin Butler‘s full transformation into the King of Rock ‘n Roll. Presley recently attended the 2023 Golden Globes to fete the award-winning film.
“Let me tell you that it is nothing short of spectacular,” she tweeted after watching the film. “Austin Butler channeled and embodied my father’s heart and soul beautifully. In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and finally done accurately and respectfully. If he doesn’t get an Oscar for this, I will eat my own foot, haha.”
