Reuters
By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Singer Lisa Marie Presley, the only daughter of the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Elvis Presley, died on Thursday at the age of 54 after being rushed to a Los Angeles-area hospital, her mother said.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” her mother, Priscilla Presley, said in a statement.
“She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known. We ask for privacy as we try to deal with this profound loss,” the statement added.
Lisa Marie Presley suffered cardiac arrest in her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas, according to entertainment website TMZ. She was then taken to hospital on Thursday.
She attended the Golden Globes awards show in Beverly Hills earlier this week, where actor Austin Butler won the best actor award for portraying her father in the film “Elvis.”
Butler paid tribute to Lisa Marie Presley and her mother during his acceptance speech. Elvis Presley died of cardiac arrest in August 1977 at the age of 42.
Presley was remembered by Hollywood stars, including Tom Hanks – Butler’s co-star in the “Elvis” movie – Rita Wilson and John Travolta, as well as fashion designer Donatella Versace.
“Our hearts are broken with the sudden and shocking passing of Lisa Marie Presley tonight. Tom and I had spent some time with the family during the Elvis movie promotional tour. Lisa Marie was so honest and direct, vulnerable, in a state of anticipation about the movie,” said Rita Wilson, actress and wife of Hanks, in an Instagram post.
“Lisa baby girl, I’m so sorry. I’ll miss you but I know I’ll see you again. My love and heart goes out to Riley, Priscilla, Harper and Finley,” actor Travolta wrote on Instagram, referring to Lisa Marie Presley’s daughters and mother.
“I will never forget the times we spent together,” designer Versace said via Instagram. “Your beauty and your kindness shone so bright. Rest in peace Lisa Marie. We will never forget you.”
MUSIC CAREER, MARRIAGES
Lisa Marie Presley was born on Feb. 1, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee and became the owner of her father’s Graceland mansion a popular tourist attraction in the city. She was nine years old when Elvis died there.
Her own music career began with a 2003 debut album “To Whom It May Concern.” It was followed by 2005’s “Now What,” and both hit the top 10 of the Billboard 200 album chart. A third album, “Storm and Grace,” was released in 2012.
She was married four times. She wed pop star Michael Jackson in 1994, just 20 days after her divorce from her first husband, musician Danny Keough. The high-profile couple divorced in 1996 as Jackson was battling child molestation allegations.
Presley married actor Nicholas Cage, a fan of her father, in 2002. Cage filed for divorce four months later.
Her fourth marriage was to her guitarist and music producer Michael Lockwood. Their divorce was finalized in 2021.
Her only son, Benjamin Keough, himself a musician, died in 2020 at age 27, a death ruled a suicide by the Los Angeles County coroner.
Lisa Marie Presley remembered her son in an essay for People magazine earlier this year that she posted on Instagram, calling herself “destroyed” by his death.
She is survived by daughter Riley Keough, 33, an actress, and 14-year-old twin daughters Harper and Finley Lockwood.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine, Eric Beech, Kanishka Singh and Dan Whitcomb; Additional reporting by Rhea Binoy; Editing by Mary Milliken, Marguerita Choy and Kenneth Maxwell)
