Priscilla Presley: A Life in Pictures…Priscilla Presley is widely known for her marriage to the “King of Rock and Roll,” Elvis Presley.
Priscilla Presley is widely known for her marriage to the “King of Rock and Roll,” Elvis Presley. In the years after Elvis’s death, she became an executor of Graceland, his estate in Memphis, Tennessee, which she helped grow into a hugely successful tourist attraction. She also pursued an acting career, with roles in the popular television series Dallas and the Naked Gun comedy films. In 2023, after the sudden death of her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, a legal battle over the control of Graceland took place, and Priscilla Presley was eventually named as a special adviser to the Graceland trust. She served as an executive producer for the film Priscilla (2023), which is based on her memoir, Elvis and Me (1985), and was directed by Sofia Coppola. Learn more about Priscilla Presley’s life in our photo gallery.
Priscilla Presley is an American businessperson and actress best known for her marriage to musician Elvis Presley. Several years after Elvis’s death in 1977, she became an executor of Graceland, his estate in Memphis, Tennessee, which she helped grow into a successful and popular tourist attraction.
Priscilla Presley:
A Life in Pictures
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Priscilla Presley is an American businessperson and actress best known for her marriage to musician Elvis Presley. Several years after Elvis’s death in 1977, she became an executor of Graceland, his estate in Memphis, Tennessee, which she helped grow into a successful and popular tourist attraction.
U.S. Navy photograph via Steven Loomis/
Together We Served
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Priscilla Ann Wagner (left) was born in New York City in 1945. Her father, James Wagner, a U.S. Navy pilot, died in a plane crash when she was a few months old. In 1948 her mother, Anna, married U.S. Air Force officer Joseph Paul Beaulieu, who adopted Priscilla.
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In 1959, while her family was stationed in West Germany, she met Elvis Presley, who had been drafted into the U.S. Army. He was 24 years old with a successful music career to his credit; she was just 14 years old. They began a courtship that continued after Elvis returned to the U.S. in 1960.
With her parents’ permission, Priscilla moved to Graceland to be closer to Elvis in 1963. She stayed in a separate house on the estate with Elvis’s father and stepmother.
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Priscilla gave birth to their only child, Lisa Marie Presley, in February 1968. The couple eventually grew apart, separating in 1972 and divorcing in 1973.
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Prisclla was named as one of the trustees of the Graceland estate in 1979. She made the crucial decision to open Graceland to the public in 1982.
© 1988 Paramount Pictures Corporation
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She pursued an acting career, with roles on the prime time television soap opera Dallas and in all three of the Naked Gun comedy films. She also launched successful fragrance and luxury linen lines.
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In 1983 Priscilla met screenwriter Marco Garibaldi through mutual friends.
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They started a romantic relationship that lasted more than two decades, and the couple had a son, Navarone, in 1987.
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In 2023 Lisa Marie Presley died of cardiac arrest at age 54, and a legal battle over control of the Graceland estate soon followed. Priscilla was eventually named a special adviser to the trust in exchange for a lump-sum payment in an agreement with her granddaughter, actress Riley Keough.
Actress Cailee Spaeny portraying Priscilla Presley in the film Priscilla (2023), directed by Sofia Coppola. Priscilla served as the film’s executive producer.
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“No one has really heard my side of the story, the adventure we had together, the transformation that I had going from a schoolgirl to a woman overnight”
—Priscilla Presley
