The true story of Priscilla Presley and Elvis
The true story of Priscilla Presley and Elvis
Priscilla Ann Beaulieu became famous when she married the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley, in 1967.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
Priscilla Ann Beaulieu became famous when she married the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley, in 1967.
In the decades since their divorce and his death, she made a name for herself as a businesswoman and a star in her own right.
Priscilla Ann Wagner was born May 24, 1945, in New York City.
Her father, a navy pilot, died months after her birth.
Her mother remarried, and her stepfather, Joseph Paul Beaulieu, adopted Priscilla.
Her stepfather was also in the armed services, and the family was stationed in Germany.
Priscilla was just 14 years old when she met Elvis, then a 24-year-old serving in the army in Germany.
With a string of number-one hits already charted (and others stockpiled to be released after his time in the service)…
… and his successful movie career launched, Elvis was already a worldwide star.
A whirlwind courtship followed, with the young Priscilla eventually relocating to Elvis’s Memphis estate, Graceland, with her parents’ permission, to live with his family and finish high school.
She lived on a separate part of the property from Presley to avoid suggestions of impropriety.
In Priscilla’s best-selling memoir Elvis and Me, she described how Elvis controlled and helped craft her now iconic style…
… choosing her wardrobe and hair and makeup in the early days of their relationship.
The couple married when Priscilla was 21.
She gave birth to their only child, Lisa Marie, a year later.
The marriage lasted only six years, but the couple remained friends until Elvis’s death in 1977.
Upon the death of her father-in-law, Priscilla became the executor of Elvis’s estate, which was floundering and barely able to pay its taxes.
She revitalized it by opening Graceland to the public, and it was soon earning millions of dollars annually in profits.
She also launched successful skincare and fashion lines.
In 2016 Lisa Marie ousted Priscilla from control of the family trust, signing an amendment putting forth two of her children, Priscilla’s grandchildren, Riley and Benjamin Keough, as trustees in the event of her death.
After Lisa Marie’s sudden death in 2023, Priscilla challenged the validity of this amendment.
Later that year Priscilla settled with her granddaughter, Riley. (Benjamin had died in 2020.)
Priscilla received a lump sum in the settlement and agreed to serve as a special adviser to the trust, now under Riley’s control.
Priscilla is also the subject of the eponymous 2023 film by Oscar-winning director Sofia Ford Coppola, based on Priscilla’s memoir. Priscilla served as executive producer.
In the decades since their divorce and his death, she made a name for herself as a businesswoman and a star in her own right.
Priscilla Ann Wagner was born May 24, 1945, in New York City.
Her father, a navy pilot, died months after her birth.
Her mother remarried, and her stepfather, Joseph Paul Beaulieu, adopted Priscilla.
Her stepfather was also in the armed services, and the family was stationed in Germany.
Priscilla was just 14 years old when she met Elvis, then a 24-year-old serving in the army in Germany.
With a string of number-one hits already charted (and others stockpiled to be released after his time in the service)…
… and his successful movie career launched, Elvis was already a worldwide star.
A whirlwind courtship followed, with the young Priscilla eventually relocating to Elvis’s Memphis estate, Graceland, with her parents’ permission, to live with his family and finish high school.
She lived on a separate part of the property from Presley to avoid suggestions of impropriety.
In Priscilla’s best-selling memoir Elvis and Me, she described how Elvis controlled and helped craft her now iconic style…
… choosing her wardrobe and hair and makeup in the early days of their relationship.
The couple married when Priscilla was 21.
She gave birth to their only child, Lisa Marie, a year later.
The marriage lasted only six years, but the couple remained friends until Elvis’s death in 1977.
Upon the death of her father-in-law, Priscilla became the executor of Elvis’s estate, which was floundering and barely able to pay its taxes.
She revitalized it by opening Graceland to the public, and it was soon earning millions of dollars annually in profits.
She also launched successful skincare and fashion lines.
In 2016 Lisa Marie ousted Priscilla from control of the family trust, signing an amendment putting forth two of her children, Priscilla’s grandchildren, Riley and Benjamin Keough, as trustees in the event of her death.
After Lisa Marie’s sudden death in 2023, Priscilla challenged the validity of this amendment.
Later that year Priscilla settled with her granddaughter, Riley. (Benjamin had died in 2020.)
Priscilla received a lump sum in the settlement and agreed to serve as a special adviser to the trust, now under Riley’s control.
Priscilla is also the subject of the eponymous 2023 film by Oscar-winning director Sofia Ford Coppola, based on Priscilla’s memoir. Priscilla served as executive producer.