BORN into showbiz royalty as the only child of Elvis, Lisa Marie Presley would always live in the shadow of The King.
With a striking resemblance to her dad, she was not able to escape the tragic legacy of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll star.
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Lisa was not able to escape the tragic legacy of her father, the greatest rock ‘n’ roll star – Elvis and Priscilla Presley with their young daughter Lisa MarieCredit: Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc
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The millions inherited from Lisa’s father were frittered away due to bad decisions – Lisa as a baby with mum & dad, 1968Credit: Getty
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Lisa Marie with her second husband Michael Jackson in 1994Credit: Reuters
Even shock marriages to singer Michael Jackson and actor Nicolas Cage were said to be partly borne from their obsessions with Elvis.
The millions inherited from her father were frittered away due to bad business decisions, costly drug rehab sessions and donations to the church of Scientology.
And now it looks as if Lisa Marie has befallen the same fate as Elvis, who suffered a heart attack aged 42 after abusing prescription drugs.
To the last, she kept hold of his Graceland estate, opened up to the public by her mum Priscilla.
Some of Lisa Marie’s happiest years were in an East Sussex village, a few miles from Scientology’s UK headquarters in East Grinstead.
She was so keen to learn about the British way of life she once served locals from a chip van.
But she quit her Rotherfield mansion in 2016 after six years there following her split from the church — and her fourth husband Michael Lockwood, who she falsely accused of having child abuse images.
Lisa Marie led a troubled life but she refused to give in easily.
She lived for her children, actress Riley Keough, 33, son Benjamin Keough, 27, and fourteen-year-old twins Finley and Harper Lockwood.
But her world fell apart when Benjamin took his own life in 2020.
It led to a spiral of depression that she admits “destroyed” her.
In an essay on grief for American magazine People, Lisa Marie wrote how Benjamin was so similar in nature to Elvis, which worried her.
She said: “It made me worry about him even more than I naturally would have.” The pair were so close they got matching tattoos.
It was the type of relationship she never had with Elvis, who died in 1977 when she was nine.
Priscilla, who described Elvis as the “love of my life”, had left him five years earlier but they shared custody of Lisa Marie — who was at Graceland when she found her dad collapsed in the bathroom.
She told Rolling Stone in 2003: “I just had a feeling. He wasn’t doing well. I was obsessed with death at an early age.”
Elvis doted on Lisa Marie.
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Even shock marriages to singer Michael Jackson and actor Nicolas Cage were said to be partly borne from their obsessions with ElvisCredit: AP
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Michael Jackson flew Lisa to Idaho on his private jet to play in the snowCredit: Rex Features
At Graceland, she had ponies and private access to an amusement park.
He even flew her to Idaho on his private jet to play in the snow.
His demise sparked a tumultuous adolescence which saw Lisa Marie drop out of school and do drugs.
At 17, she was in the Scientology celebrity rehab centre, sent there by mum Priscilla, now 77, who was a church member alongside stars John Travolta and Tom Cruise.
It was there she met her first husband — marrying musician Danny Keough in 1988 aged 20.
Within a year, they had daughter Riley, star of upcoming Amazon series Daisy Jones & The Six, and Benjamin followed in 1992.
They split 1994 as Danny struggled to cope with her fame. Just 20 days after their divorce was finalised, Lisa Marie shocked the world by marrying Michael Jackson.
Many believed the marriage, in secret in the Dominican Republic, was a stunt to detract from child sex allegations faced by Jacko.
Lisa Marie always insisted their love was real despite calling it the “biggest mistake of my life”.
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Lisa was so keen to learn about the British way of life she once served locals from a chip vanCredit: Stian Alexander
Some, however, speculated the marriage was part of superstar Jackson’s fascination with Elvis.
Lisa Marie later explained how she wanted to help Jackson, who died aged 50 in 2009 from a drug induced heart attack.
She said: “You get sucked into the, ‘You poor, misunderstood person’. I’m a sucker for that. I got into this whole, ‘I’m going to save you thing’.
“In an interview after his death, she said caring for Jackson was one of the “highest points” in her life adding: “It was a very profound time.”
Lisa Marie’s next marriage was to actor Cage in 2002.
He was also obsessed with Elvis and played a man fascinated with The King in his 1990 movie Wild at Heart.
Unsurprisingly, the marriage lasted just 107 days.
She met Cage, now 59, at a party while he was still wed to Patricia Arquette and she was engaged to musician John Oszajca.
Cage said he was “thunderstruck” by Lisa Marie.
The pair had a combative relationship and during one row, she reportedly chucked a diamond ring into the ocean.
Cage hired divers in a fruitless bid to find it and then bought her an even bigger diamond.
Lisa Marie later said: “We shouldn’t have been married in the first place.”
She thought she had found real love with music producer Lockwood, 61, who she wed in Japan in 2006.
Her first husband Danny was their best man.
During their ten-year marriage, they had twin girls Harper Vivienne Ann and Finley Aaron Love.
Lisa Marie had also launched her music career in 2003, inspired by her late dad.
She called Lockwood her best friend and said: “I’ve gotten to the point in my life where I’ve chased all the crazies down. I was ready to stop the madness.”
Their relationship ended in controversy after Lisa Marie filed for divorce in 2016, claiming she found child abuse pics on his computer.
Police investigated but found no evidence to back up the allegations — which Lockwood denied — and no charges were brought.
But it led to a messy court and custody battle which saw Lisa Marie turn to drugs again.
She said: The last three years, I had to go to rehab several times. I was a mess I couldn’t stop. The last year of our marriage I was abusing cocaine terribly.”
It was a replay of relying on drugs during her teen traumas.
Lisa Marie had said the church of Scientology saved her during her first battle with addiction.
And it was the lure of the cult’s British headquarters that led her to buy a home in Rotherfield in 2010, where she enjoyed a quiet life and evenings in the local pub. She befriended landlady and Mr Chippy van owner Kim Scales — and spent a day selling fish suppers with son Benjamin.
Kim later said: “We were all laughing because not one of the locals realised who it was. She served one local double fishcake and chips and he didn’t have a clue it was Elvis’s daughter.”
Lisa Marie said: “We have found the quality of life so much more enriching and fulfilling.
“I can honestly say I’m the only person who came to England for the weather. I love the cold and the rain.”
In 2014, Lisa Marie suddenly cut ties with Scientology — claiming it was taking my “soul, my money, my everything”.
Lisa Marie also battled money problems.
She inherited £81million, along with Graceland, years after her father’s death but at one point was £13million in debt — which she blamed on deals made by her business manager.
She accused Barry Siegel of selling 85 per cent of her Elvis Presley Enterprises share in 2005 which saw her lose control of her father’s name, image and rights.
She also said that her trust’s real estate portfolio was “run into the ground” by Siegel.
Certainly, drug treatments cost her a small fortune.
She was in rehab at least five times to the tune of around £50,000 a month.
Who knows if her fate might have been different had she remained at her British bolthole?
But as the world mourns Elvis’s only child, the similarities between her and her dad’s deaths are perhaps the biggest tragedy.
