Lisa Marie Presley, in June 2022, during a premiere of “Elvis” in Los Angeles RINGO CHIU (Portal)
Lisa Marie Presley, part of America’s musical aristocracy, died this Thursday in Los Angeles at the age of 54. “It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of our beautiful daughter, Lisa Marie,” her mother, Priscilla, said in a statement released this afternoon. The death came hours after the actress and singer was rushed to hospital for cardiac arrest. The only daughter of music legend Elvis Presley was last seen in public on Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton, where she went with her mother Priscilla to accompany Austin Butler, who plays her father in the film Elvis directed by Baz Luhrmann.
Lisa Marie was found in her room by one of her employees around 10:30 a.m., TMZ reported. The woman called emergency services, which arrived six minutes later at the residence in Calabasas, a city home to many Hollywood celebrities and located 50 kilometers from downtown Los Angeles. A spokesman for the local fire department confirmed to the Associated Press that paramedics were treating her for cardiac arrest.
Elvis’ daughter wasn’t breathing when paramedics entered the house. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that responders had to perform CPR massage. Authorities say Lisa Marie Presley had “signs of life” when she was taken to the county hospital. As of this afternoon, medical staff had not provided any information on his medical condition. The family asked for privacy.
Priscilla and Elvis show Lisa Marie in the first known picture of the Presleys’ only daughter in 1958. Perry Aycock (AP)
Lisa Marie and Priscilla, 77, were invited to the Golden Globes for the production of Elvis. Actor Austin Butler won his first award at the ceremony organized by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. At 31, Butler thanked the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s family for the opportunity to act in what has been the role of his career so far. His performance, described as “amazing” by Lisa Marie on Sunday, has made him one of the favorites for the Oscar nominations, which will be announced on Tuesday January 24. Butler came under fire Tuesday for delivering his acceptance speech in a Southern accent, despite being born in Anaheim, California.
Ahead of the awards ceremony, Lisa Marie visited the legendary Graceland last Sunday, the mansion where her father lived until he died of a heart problem in 1977 at the age of 42. Lisa Marie was at the residence in Memphis, Tennessee, which is visited by tens of thousands of people every year to celebrate her father’s birthday.
Lisa Marie Presley had two children with composer Danny Keough. Riley, 33, is the oldest and has devoted herself to modeling and acting. Beginning in March, she will be starring in an Amazon adaptation of the popular young adult book Daisy Jones & The Six, about a fictional starfront rock band from 1970s California. Riley has said she used her mother, who she considers “a very strong and intelligent woman,” as inspiration for the role.
Riley’s younger brother Benjamin committed suicide in October 2020 at the age of 27. His family buried him at Graceland, where the bodies of his grandfather and great-grandparents, Vernon and Minnie Mae, also rest. The death was a heavy blow to his mother, who considered him the love of her life.
In addition, Lisa Marie had younger twin daughters, Harper and Finley, from a second marriage to musician Michael Lockwood. The ex-partner divorced in 2016 after ten years together. Shortly after, they staged a legal battle over custody of the girls. In 2018, a judge ordered Presley to pay her ex-husband $100,000 in legal fees.