Singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of rock 'n' roll legend Elvis Presley, died at 54 years old Thursday after being hospitalized earlier in the day.
"It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us," Priscilla Presley, 77, Lisa Marie's mother and Elvis' ex-wife, said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press (AP) Thursday evening. "She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known."
According to AP, paramedics were dispatched to a Calabasas, California, residence Thursday morning following a report of a woman "in full cardiac arrest." Property records show that Presley lived in the home, AP reported. Priscilla Presley had also confirmed that her daughter had been hospitalized earlier in the day.
Lisa Marie Presley, who followed in her father's footsteps as a singer-songwriter, first married Danny Keough in 1988, with whom she had two children, actress Riley Keough, 33, and Benjamin Keough. Benjamin, her only son, died by suicide in 2020 at age 27, something the artist opened up about in an an emotional essay to People magazine last year.
After separating from Keough after six years, Presley was married to the "King of Pop," Michael Jackson, from 1994 to 1996. Most recently, she was married to guitarist Michael Lockwood, with whom she had her twin daughters, Finley and Harper, 14, before the two divorced in 2021.
Presley was seen just two days prior to her death at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards, where she and her mother attended to celebrate the 2022 blockbuster biopic Elvis, a dramatization of her father's life. Austin Butler, who portrayed Elvis Presley in the film directed by Baz Luhrmann, won the Golden Globe for best drama performance.
Prior to the award ceremony, Presley told ExtraTV that she had gotten to know Butler well since the film released, adding, "I adore him."
"I was mind-blown, truly," Presley about her reaction to watching the film. "I actually had to take like five days to process it, because it was so spot-on and authentic."
She was 9 years old when her father died on August 16, 1977.
In another interview with Presley, who entered the awards ceremony with talent manager and family friend Jerry Schilling, she told Access Hollywood that the film meant "everything" to her and her family.
"It's just so incredible, there's no words to describe it," Presley said. "It's just so, it's important, that movie, on so many levels. And I'm so proud of [Butler] and Baz. And I'm just here to support them."
Presley also said that Butler "absolutely nailed" her father's mannerisms, such as his distinct laugh.
In a separate interview with Entertainment Tonight, while standing next to Butler, Presley reiterated that she "truly didn't know what to do with myself" after she first watched the Elvis film.
"It was so incredible, and so spot-on, and so authentic," she said. "I can't even describe what it meant.
Perhaps one of the most tender moments from Tuesday's award ceremony, however, came during Butler's acceptance speech, in which the actor thanked the Presley family for "opening your hearts, your memories, your home to me."
"Lisa Marie, Priscilla, I love you forever," Butler said to the teary eyed mother and daughter.
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Kaitlin Lewis is a Newsweek reporter on the Night Team based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her focus is reporting on national ... Read more
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