Singer Elvis Presley and his bride Priscilla Ann Beaulieu, pose for a photograph following their wedding at the Aladdin Hotel on May 1, 1967.Bettmann/Getty Images
Priscilla Presley’s relationship with Elvis Presley is the focus of Sofia Coppola’s new film “Priscilla.”
The pair got married in 1967 but separated in 1972.
Priscilla said in 1985 that she “found Priscilla” after leaving Elvis.
Priscilla and Elvis Presley’s 14-year relationship will be explored in the upcoming movie “Priscilla.”
The pair met in 1959 at a party in Germany while he was serving in the army. Priscilla was only 14 at the time, while Elvis was 24. Despite the age gap, the pair began dating and eventually got married in 1967.
However, after both parties had affairs, they separated in 1972 and finalized their divorce a year later. According to People, Priscilla got $1.7 million plus $8,000 a month until 1983 in the divorce settlement.
While the pair co-parented their daughter Lisa Marie Presley, who was born in 1968, they both pursued other relationships.
Here’s what to know about Priscilla’s life after their separation.
In 1972, Priscilla Presley had an affair with a karate instructor while she was married to Elvis Presley.
Mike Stone and Priscilla Presley in 1975.Frank Edwards / Fotos International / Getty Images
In 1972, Priscilla and a karate instructor called Mike Stone began an affair while Priscilla was still married to Elvis. Elvis reportedly had numerous affairs of his own at the time and Stone was also married to Francine Doxey but they also got divorced in 1972.
Stone had trained with legends like Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee before becoming a bodyguard for music producer Phil Spector.
Stone told Elvis Information Network in 2021 that he first met Elvis and Priscilla in 1971 backstage after one of his shows. He eventually became her karate instructor which is when the affair started.
“It was Priscilla’s decision to tell Elvis, when she felt confident and secure in our relationship to tell Elvis,” Stone said.
Stone said they dated for four years.
In 1973, Priscilla gave her first tell-all interview after the divorce.
Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley and Elvis Presley in 1970.GAB Archive/Redferns
In 1973, Priscilla gave her first tell-all interview to Ladies Home Journal about her relationship with Presley, her marriage and amicable divorce, and her life at the time.
While Priscilla still had positive words to say about Elvis, she said she realized during their marriage that they were living separate lives.
“For Elvis to come home from a trip and leave again was routine. At first, I wanted to go along and it was difficult for me to understand why I couldn’t. Sure I was disappointed, but I got over it,” she said. “The times that Elvis couldn’t make an anniversary became a way of life. I may have been hurt, but it’s an adjustment that you make as a wife.”
Priscilla added: “In mid-1972 I finally realized that things were not going to change — and that we had separate lives completely.”
In the interview, Priscilla also admitted to dating Stone but was not keen on remarrying yet.
“I really can’t say for the future — I only know about today and how I feel — but I don’t have any plans for marriage. I think that there can be a very good relationship between two people that marriage can ruin,” Priscilla said.
She continued: “In marriage, you can easily take each other for granted. You begin to feel obligated. I see it happening to my friends — every one is divorced — and I saw it happen to me. It’s a slow gradual change. Whatever it is that marriage does, it changes you. It may be the obligation; it may be the responsibility. People become less sensitive to each other’s needs. They do something because they have to, not because they want to. So I would rather be the girlfriend than the wife.”
In 1976, Priscilla almost became a Kardashian after dating Robert Kardashian for a year.
Priscilla is also rumored to have had short romances with a hairdresser, a financier, a British TV executive, a restaurant owner, Julio Iglesias, and Richard Gere.Ron Galella / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
In 1975, Priscilla and Robert Kardashian met through his brother Tom Kardashian, who had set them up, according to the Daily Mail. Tom was dating Joan Esposito, the ex-wife of Elvis’ road manager, which is how the connection was made.
The Mail also reported that, according to Jerry Oppenheimer’s biography “The Kardashians: An American Drama,” Robert even proposed to Priscilla a year into a relationship.
However, according to Oppenheimer, the “Agent Elvis” producer responded: “Look, I’m not going to marry anyone until Elvis dies.”
Robert then got back together with Kris Jenner.
Elvis died in 1977, leaving his estate to his father.
Elvis Presley smiles during a press conference inside his private railroad car at Los Angeles Union Station, California, on April 20, 1960.HPM/AP
Elvis died in his home in August 1977 at the age of 42. His father Vernon Presley became the executor of the star’s estate and named Priscilla as his successor upon his death.
Priscilla told People in 1978 that their daughter Lisa Marie, who was 9 at the time, took the loss hard.
“It was extremely difficult for her when her father died — they were very, very close,” she said.
Priscilla also said the news of Elvis’ death was a shock to her. “Although I saw his health failing and even went back to Memphis once to see if there was anything I could do,” she added.
In 1978, Priscilla gives her first interview after Elvis’ death and says she wants to pursue acting.
Priscilla Presley and Lisa Marie Presley in 1981.Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Priscilla gave her first interview after Elvis’ death in 1978, telling People about her relationship with the singer post-divorce and her future career plans.
“It was like we were never divorced,” Priscilla said. “Elvis and I still hugged each other, still had love. We would say ‘Mommy said this’ and ‘Daddy said that.’ That helped Lisa to feel stable. There was never any arguing or bitterness.”
The one criticism she made in the interview is that she felt she was always in Elvis’ shadow when they were together.
“With Elvis, my life was his life. He had to be happy. We never disturbed him. My problems were secondary,” she said. “I want to grow. I want to do things.”
Priscilla also said that she wanted to pursue acting.
“I was just starting to get into it when Elvis died. Then I realized that I would have to wait a year. I didn’t want people to say that I was capitalizing on that,” she said.
Priscilla did have an acting career, appearing in numerous “Naked Gun” movies, episodes of “Spin City” and 2023’s “Agent Elvis.” Her biggest role was playing Jenna Wade in the show “Dallas.”
Finally, Priscilla mentioned she would write a memoir to dispel rumors and lies in the People interview.
“I feel I owe it to his fans,” she said. “I just want people to know and love him.”
Priscilla published her own memoir, “Elvis and Me,” in 1985, which was used as the basis of the 2023 movie “Priscilla.”
In 1978, Priscilla also spoke about her new relationship with actor Michael Edwards.
Priscilla and Mike Edwards in 1978.Ron Galella / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
In 1978, Priscilla moved on to a new relationship with actor Michael Edwards, whom she reportedly dated for six years.
Priscilla told People: “For the first time in my life I have been able to do and be everything I want.”
However, she still ruled out marriage.
“To me, marriage means nothing,” Priscilla said. “It makes you feel like you’re glued. I think Michael and I have more in a relationship than most people have in a marriage.”
However, in 1988, Edwards published his own memoir “Priscilla, Elvis and Me” where he admitted to having feelings for Lisa while she was a child.
Lisa Marie later told Playboy in 2003 that Edwards was “sick.”
“I know he wrote a book and said he lusted after my developing body as I got out of a pool,” She said. “He made his attempts at coming into my room and being inappropriate while drunk.”
Vernon Presley died in 1979, putting Priscilla in charge of Elvis’ estate.
Priscilla Presley on May 4, 1982, at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.Ron Galella/Getty Images
Priscilla was put in charge of Elvis’ estate until their daughter turned 25 in 1993. According to a Los Angeles Times report in 1989, Priscilla was told almost immediately after her ex-father-in-law’s death that the Presley estate was close to bankruptcy.
In order to salvage the estate, Priscilla turned Graceland, the mansion Elvis owned, into a tourist attraction in 1982.
Elvis’ estate made $23 million in 2020, making him the fifth-highest-paid dead celebrity, according to Forbes. Graceland alone normally makes $10 million annually.
In 1984, Priscilla began dating Marco Garibaldi, who was her longest-lasting relationship.
Priscilla Presley and her boyfriend Marco Garibaldi attend the “The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear” premiere on June 13, 1991.Ron Galella, Ltd. / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Priscilla and Marco Garibaldi, her fourth long-term partner, met in 1983 through mutual friends, according to the Chicago Tribune. Garibaldi was a producer and director, who once directed a few episodes of “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.”
Although they never married, the pair were together for over 20 years, eventually splitting in 2006.
In 1985, Priscilla released her tell-all memoir, “Elvis and Me.” It has sold more than 4 million copies.
Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla Presley in “Priscilla.”A24
In September 1985, eight years after Elvis’ death, Priscilla released a memoir titled, “Elvis and Me.” Cowritten by Sandra Harmon, the book gave readers an unprecedented — and not necessarily flattering — look inside her marriage to the world-famous entertainer.
Per the insider cover blurb, the book is “a love story unlike any other — of a man determined to create the perfect woman, and of the woman herself, torn between love for her husband and her own need for personal growth and self-respect.”
As of 2019, the book has sold more than 1 million copies in hardcover and 3 million in paperback since it was first published, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The same year, Priscilla also opened up about intimate aspects of her and Elvis’ life together, the most famous being her sit down with Barbara Walters.
Priscilla Presley in 1985.Harry Langdon / Getty Images
After releasing the book, Priscilla began speaking out on aspects of her and Elvis’ marriage that were hitherto unknown to the general public, including her assertion that the couple did not have sex until after they were married, despite knowing each other for eight years before their marriage in 1967.
“There was an agreement, I guess that he made with himself that the woman that he decided to take for his wife, he was going to keep her that way until he married her,” she told Barbara Walters about her virginity.
Elsewhere, she described the late performer as very different behind closed doors, calling him “insecure” and “vulnerable.”
Priscilla also said that both she and Elvis had changed after the divorce.
“I wasn’t living in the real world. I was living in a bubble and I found that I had my own taste. I had things that I liked that weren’t Elvis’s,” Priscilla said. “I found Priscilla.”
In 1987, Priscilla had her second child with Garibaldi.
Lisa Marie with Riley, Benjamin, and her half-brother Navarone Garibaldi in 2002.CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images
After three years of dating, the pair had their only child together, Navarone Garibaldi Garcia. In February 2023, Garcia gave his first big interview to People about his life.
In the interview, he recalled leaving home at 18 to distance himself from his family in LA and forming his own band, Them Guns, in Santa Cruz.
“I thought, ‘OK, I’m going into the family business. I’ll write a song, and then we’ll start touring it,'” he said. “I didn’t realize it takes way more than that.”
Garcia also said that he was estranged from his father after learning about his extended family in 2017. Garcia learned from a person from Brazil claiming to be his cousin that his father had changed his name to get into Hollywood, but when he confronted his father, Garibaldi told him, “Lose my number.”
Garcia said he was still in touch with his mother and hoped to bring Priscilla to Brazil to see the rest of his family.
“She was there in the ’80s, but I think she needs a reminder of how nice it is,” he said. “I would love to move there someday.”
In 1988, Priscilla began her film-producing career.
Lisa Marie Presley and Priscilla Presley in 2005.Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
In 1988, Priscilla produced her first TV biopic movie, “Elvis and Me.”
She went on to produce numerous other TV series and movies over the years about herself and her former husband including “Finding Graceland,” “Agent Elvis,” and “Priscilla.”
In 2012, Priscilla said Elvis wasn’t a hands-on father, leaving her to be the disciplinarian.
Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley & Elvis Presley.Magma Agency/WireImage
In 2012, Priscilla spoke about her marriage and family to the Guardian for the “My Family Values” section.
During the interview, she said she was “devastated” when she got pregnant straight after they got married.
“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, here I am married and now I’m pregnant and I’m not going to look attractive any more.’ It was certainly a rocky time,” she said.
Priscilla also admitted Elvis wasn’t a hands-on dad.
“Living at Graceland was difficult but I knew when I got married that he was going to have his guys around all the time,” Priscilla said. “I could not domesticate Elvis, and I accepted that. He didn’t really have that much to do with the practical stuff but I took naturally to becoming a mother.”
She added: “The moment you have the child, everything changes. It is terrifying and it is beautiful and it changed my life and it brought Elvis and me closer together. I was the disciplinarian and there were times when Lisa didn’t like it but you can’t live life without boundaries.”
On the 40th anniversary of Elvis’ death in 2017, Priscilla said that Elvis is still “so much a part of our lives.”
Priscilla in 2023 and in 1967 with her former husband, Elvis.Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images / Stefania D’Alessandro / WireImage
As an estimated 50,000 fans memorialized Elvis at a candlelight vigil on the Graceland grounds on the 40th anniversary of his passing, Priscilla spoke to Entertainment Tonight and said it was “still unbelievable” to her that he was gone.
“A devastating time for myself and of course, the world, to hear the news, and it’s still unbelievable because he’s so much a part of our lives — my life and my daughter’s life and everyone around him,” she said.
“When we get together, we talk about it, and the impact it made … for myself, and for my cohorts, who of course knew Elvis so well, we never thought he’d pass. We just never, ever had that in our minds.”
In 2021, Priscilla opened up about how codependent she became during her marriage to Elvis.
Priscilla Presley in November 2022.TOMMASO BODDI/AFP/Getty Images
Priscilla opened up to People further about her relationship with Elvis, revealing that his megastar status left her worried that she would be replaced.
“Women gravitated to him, so I would be nervous when he had to go places alone,” she said. “I would even go with him to get his teeth cleaned! I always had an eye on him because everyone in the world was after him.”
She also spoke about the singer’s temper, adding: “If he saw somebody he didn’t like on the TV, he’d get his gun out and blow it up. Then he would tell his daddy to go get another TV.”
She said she knew immediately she “had to keep him,” and did what she could to be with him always.
“I wanted to go places with him. I would cry if I couldn’t be around him.”
She continued: “I was always ready to greet him at the door and pamper him. I loved taking care of Elvis very much. I loved tending to him. I loved feeding him. We would baby talk, because you have to have your own language when you have that many people around. It was a good life. It was different, but it was ours.”
In 2022, Priscilla supported Baz Luhrmann’s biopic about her husband’s life and career
Priscilla Presley attends the photocall for “Elvis” during the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival.Lionel Hahn/Getty Images
In the biopic “Elvis,” Priscilla is played by Olivia DeJonge, opposite Austin Butler’s award-winning turn as Elvis.
Priscilla and the rest of her family approved of the film — and Butler’s performance.
On Facebook in April 2022 ahead of the film’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, she wrote: “For those curious about the new film ‘ELVIS,’ Baz Luhrmann, the director, provided a private screening for me and Jerry Schilling at Warner studios recently. This story is about Elvis and Colonel Parker’s relationship.”
“Austin Butler, who played Elvis is outstanding. Halfway through the film Jerry and I looked at each other and said WOW!!! Bravo to him…he knew he had big shoes to fill. He was extremely nervous playing this part. I can only imagine,” she continued.
“The story, as we all know, does not have a happy ending. But I think you will understand a little bit more of Elvis’ journey, penned by a [director] who put his heart and soul and many hours into this film.”
Priscilla and Elvis’ only daughter, Lisa Marie, died earlier this year.
Priscilla Presley speaks at the public memorial for her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley.Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Lisa Marie Presley died at the age of 54 on January 12, 2023, after going into cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas, California. TMZ reported that she was rushed to the hospital with her mother by her side.
Shortly after Lisa Marie was laid to rest on the grounds of Graceland, the Presley family’s estate in Memphis, Tennessee, Priscilla posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, thanking fans for the support they have shown since her sudden and unexpected death.
“Thank you all for your condolences, you have touched me with your words,” she wrote. “It has been a very difficult time but just knowing your love is out there makes a difference.”
Lisa Marie’s death resulted in a legal dispute between Priscilla and her granddaughter Riley Keough over the control of Graceland.
Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough on May 7, 2016, in Hollywood, California.Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Before her death, Lisa Marie inherited the legendary singer’s whole estate on her 25th birthday in 1993.
After her death, it was discovered that, in 2016, she had made an amendment to her will which removed her mother and her former business manager, Barry Siegel, as cotrustees.
In their place, Lisa Marie elected her oldest children Benjamin Keough, who died by suicide in 2020 at the age of 27, and Riley as new cotrustees.
Lawyers for Presley disputed the amendment and questioned its legitimacy after noticing that Lisa Marie had misspelled her mother’s name and had signed the document with a signature that was “inconsistent with her usual and customary” style.
However, on May 16, the two sides reached a settlement, according to The Los Angeles Times.
In a statement to People, Priscilla said: “I want to make clear that there was never any lawsuit filed against my beloved granddaughter.”
“As a family, we are pleased that we resolved this together,” she continued. “My family and I hope that everyone will grant us the privacy we have needed to properly grieve Lisa Marie and spend personal time together. We love and appreciate all of you and the Presley family is stronger than ever.”
A year after “Elvis,” Priscilla became the subject of her own film, “Priscilla,” which is an adaptation of her memoir.
Sofia Coppola, Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, and Priscilla Presley at the 2023 Venice International Film Festival.Marilla Sicilia / Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
Sofia Coppola announced that she would be directing an adaptation of “Elvis and Me,” Priscilla’s autobiography, called “Priscilla,” in September 2022.
The following year, the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, earning rave reviews from multiple outlets, with Variety describing it as “piercingly authentic” and The Hollywood Reporter stating that it “elegantly upgrades a key player in the Elvis legend from the sidelines, and anyone attuned to Coppola’s distinctive wavelengths will find it a pleasurably emotional experience.”
In the film, Cailee Spaeny plays Priscilla and Jacob Elordi portrays Elvis.
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