How does Elvis' daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, think her famous last name has held her back?
What's her connection to a controversial religion?
And she's been married how many times?
Keep watching.
Unique childhood
Lisa Marie Presley split her childhood between Los Angeles, where her mother lived, and Memphis,
Tennessee, where her father lived.
That in and of itself is a lot for a young child, but the reality of father's life resulted
in a very unusual childhood.
After all, not many kids have a dad who names a plane after them like Elvis did for Lisa
Marie in 1975.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Presley explained that life at home with her mother
had structure and order, and life at home with her father was a little chaotic.
She said,
"I was a tyrant.
[...] If he was sleeping, which he mostly was during the day, I could do whatever until
I was ordered to his room if I pushed it too far.
I was awful."
"Was he, like, a really strict dad, or did you hang out and just have fun together?"
"He was not strict, at all."
She added that she was often approached by fans and photographers who were hoping for
behind the scenes glimpses of her dad's daily life.
Presley admitted that she would take the photographers' money and then throw their cameras.
Her father's death
Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977, of a heart attack.
The Sun noted that at the time of his death, Elvis suffered from a number of health problems,
including emphysema, which led to an enlarged colon, liver damage, and high blood pressure.
Lisa Marie Presley does not often speak about the day her father died, but she was actually
at home with him at Graceland in Memphis at the time.
In 2012, Lisa Marie opened up about what happened the night Elvis died.
Express quoted her as saying,
"I don't like talking about this.
It was August 16th, at 4 a.m.
I was supposed to be asleep, actually.
He found me, you know.
[He said:] 'Go to bed.'"
She said her father gave her a kiss and put her back to bed, and that was the last time
she saw him alive.
Former Scientologist
Lisa Marie Presley's mother, Priscilla Presley, became a member of the Church of Scientology
when her daughter was very young.
According to Time, Lisa Marie was an active member of the church until 2012, when she
reportedly decided to leave.
The move surprised some at the time.
The Church of Scientology still boasts a quote on its website from Lisa Marie, in which she
credits the movement with helping her quit drugs.
It reads in part,
"Were it not for Scientology, I would either be completely insane or dead by now.
I am forever grateful for the technology of Scientology."
She told Diane Sawyer in 2003,
"They put me back together.
Humpty Dumpty falls off the wall, and there they are, with the glue."
Lisa Marie didn't issue an official explanation for her departure, though according to Dame
Magazine, some pointed to song lyrics and unpublished interview quotes as indicators
that she had grown jaded by the faith.
Married four times
Lisa Marie Presley has walked down the aisle four times.
In October 1988, when she was just 20 years old, she married actor and musician Danny
Keough.
The couple had two children together, son Benjamin and daughter Riley, before divorcing
in 1994.
Presley and singer Michael Jackson began dating after her relationship with Keough ended,
and they married in 1994.
Presley issued a statement that explained,
"My marriage to Michael Jackson took place in a private ceremony outside the United States
weeks ago.
I am very much in love with Michael, I dedicate my life to being his wife.
I understand and support him."
Jackson and Presley ultimately divorced in 1996.
"Michael Jackson."
"Oh, God."
"Michael Jackson?"
"I thought you were gonna go here first.
I was hoping you forgot."
Four years later, Presley met Nicolas Cage at a party.
By 2002, they were married.
Cage filed for divorce that same year and the split was finalized in 2004.
In January 2006, Presley married Michael Lockwood, who is the father of her twins Harper and
Finley.
Presley and Lockwood called it quits in 2016, though they continued to fight a bitter custody
battle for years afterward, according to Town & Country.
Complicated legacy
Lisa Marie Presley has been open about wanting to pursue a career in music on her own, but
she admitted to Healthy Living Magazine that she believes her father's shadow has complicated
her efforts.
While she obviously has some advantages, that doesn't mean she's been guaranteed success.
Presley said,
"I get exposed to more and have more opportunities; however, there is a lot more expected out
of me, which is the other aspect of that.
I am constantly compared."
She said she hoped to see herself as simply a singer/songwriter, that's not something
the music industry seemed willing to do; instead, she had to attempt to build her own musical
career under the weight of the expectations that come with being the daughter of a legend.
"He had this habit of, like, just putting me on the table in front of everybody and
saying, 'Sing something.'"
Devastated by her son's death
In July 2020, TMZ reported that Lisa Marie Presley and Danny Keough's 27-year-old son
Benjamin Keough took his own life.
Presley's representative told People,
"[Lisa Marie] is completely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated but trying to stay strong
for her 11-year-old twins and her oldest daughter Riley.
She adored that boy.
He was the love of her life."
Presley was clearly proud of her son, often commenting on his musical abilities and natural
gifts, as well as his physical resemblance to her late father.
She once told CMT that Benjamin was a "quiet storm" backstage at an event.
She said,
"Everybody was grabbing him for a photo because it is just uncanny.
Sometimes I am overwhelmed when I look at him."
In May 2022, Presley revealed on Instagram that her son's death is still an incredibly
painful topic for her.
While promoting the biopic about her father's life, she wrote,
"I am and will forever be mourning the loss of my son.
Navigating through this hideous grief that absolutely destroyed and shattered my heart
and my soul into almost nothing has swallowed me whole.
Not much else aside from my other 3 children gets my time and attention anymore."
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.