Every king has his queen. Priscilla Presley, who was married to Elvis Presley from 1967 to 1973, has kept her late ex-husband’s legacy alive for decades.
In her own words, Priscilla — who frequently moved around as a child due to her stepfather’s job in the U.S. Air Force — was a shy girl who was “embarrassed about my own sexuality,” she wrote in a 1985 essay for People. Then she met the “Blue Suedes Shoes” singer in 1959, while he was stationed in Germany, as was her father, and everything changed.
“I found myself deeply involved with Elvis. Something in his Southern upbringing had taught him that the ‘right’ girl was to be saved for marriage. I was that girl,” she recalled, later describing her desire to consummate their relationship, though he’d always make her wait. “At the same time, he molded me into his woman. I wore the clothes, hairstyle and makeup of his careful choosing.”
Priscilla married the King of Rock n’ Roll in 1967 and welcomed their only child, daughter Lisa Marie Presley, the following year. The pair split in 1972 and finalized their divorce one year later.
The “Can’t Help Falling in Love” artist was rumored to be having an affair with Nancy Sinatra during their marriage, and Priscilla later admitted her own infidelity during their union. “I came out of it realizing I needed much more out of my relationship with Elvis,” she recalled in her memoir, Elvis and Me.
Despite their split, “We never lost our friendship,” Priscilla told Australia’s Sunday News in 2017.
After Elvis’ death in 1977 at the age of 42, the Dallas alum was left in charge of his legacy. In the early ‘80s, she opened Graceland — Elvis’ iconic Memphis estate — to the public.
Priscilla went on to have several high profile romances, including relationships with Robert Kardashian and Marco Garibaldi. During her 22-year relationship with the film producer, the then-couple welcomed son Navarone in 1987. Two years later, Lisa Marie gave birth to her first child, Riley Keough, making Priscilla a grandmother.
The “Lights Out” singer had three more children — son Benjamin, who died by suicide in 2020, and daughters Harper and Finley — making Priscilla a grandma four times over. When Lisa Marie died in January 2023 after suffering cardiac arrest, Priscilla was the one to announce her daughter’s death.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” Priscilla said in a statement to People at the time. “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.”
Keep scrolling to see Priscilla’s life through the years:
