Priscilla Ann Presley (née Wagner, formerly Beaulieu; born May 24, 1945) is an American businesswoman and actress. She was married to singer Elvis Presley from 1967 to 1973. Presley later co-founded and chaired Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), which oversaw the public opening of Graceland as a museum. As an actress, she portrayed Jane Spencer in the Naked Gun film series (1988–1994) and Jenna Wade on the television series Dallas (1983–1988).
Priscilla Ann Wagner was born at Brooklyn Naval Hospital in Brooklyn on May 24, 1945.[1][2] Her maternal grandfather, Albert Henry Iversen, was born in Egersund, Norway.[3] He migrated to the United States, where he married Lorraine Davis, who was of Scots-Irish and English descent. Their only daughter was Anna Lillian Iversen, whose name was later shortened to Ann.[4][5] Priscilla's biological father was US Navy pilot James Frederick Wagner, son of Kathryn and Harold Wagner of Cherrytree Township, Pennsylvania.[6] He married Ann on August 10, 1944, after dating for more than three years. Wagner died in a plane crash on November 3, 1945.[7] Her paternal uncle, Harold Wagner Jr., served as principal of an American school in Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany.[6][8]
In 1948, Ann married United States Air Force officer Paul Beaulieu, from Québec, Canada. The couple raised Priscilla, along with half-siblings Donald, Michelle, Jeffrey and twins Thomas[9] and Timothy. Priscilla's surname was legally changed from Wagner to Beaulieu on April 17, 1950.[10] Over the next few years, the growing family repeatedly relocated as her stepfather's Air Force career moved them from Connecticut to New Mexico to Maine. In her 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, Priscilla described herself during this period as “a shy, pretty little girl, unhappily accustomed to moving from base to base every two or three years.”[11] She noted that frequent relocations made it difficult to form lasting friendships.[11]
In 1956, the family settled in Del Valle, Texas, but soon Beaulieu was transferred to Wiesbaden, West Germany.[12] Priscilla was "crushed" upon learning this news, as it occurred just after her junior high school years, and was upset about leaving her friends and connections behind.[12]
Life in West Germany
Upon arriving in West Germany, the Beaulieu family initially stayed at the Helene Hotel. After three months, the cost proved unsustainable, prompting them to search for a rental property.[13] They eventually moved into a spacious apartment in a "vintage building constructed long before World War I." Shortly after settling in, they discovered that the building also operated as a brothel, but due to limited housing availability, they had little choice but to remain.[13]
Life with Elvis
West Germany
On September 13, 1959, 14-year-old Priscilla met 24-year-old Elvis Presley at a party at his rented villa in Bad Nauheim, West Germany, during his military service.[14] Her presence reportedly made Presley appear "awkward" and "embarrassed," though he composed himself by the end of the evening.[15] Priscilla’s late return home that night upset her parents, who initially insisted she not see Presley again. However, his eagerness for another meeting and his promise not to bring her home late again[16] led them to relent. Thereafter, Priscilla and Presley were frequently together until his departure from West Germany on March 2, 1960.[17]
Following Presley’s departure, Priscilla received widespread media attention, including interview requests from outlets around the world. She received letters from Presley fans—both supportive and critical—as well as correspondence from "lonesome G.I.s." Gossip magazines circulated rumors about Presley’s relationship with Nancy Sinatra, leading Priscilla to fear that their romance had ended and that she might never see him again.[18] She also worried about Presley rekindling his relationship with Anita Wood, whom he had dated before and after his overseas service.[19] According to biographer Suzanne Finstad, Priscilla subsequently dated boys from her high school in West Germany, including Ron Tapp and Jamie Lindbergh, and attended school dances with them.[20][21]
Move to Graceland
Graceland
After Elvis returned to the United States, Priscilla remained in contact with him by phone, though they did not reunite until the summer of 1962, when her parents agreed to let her visit for two weeks.[14][22] Their permission was contingent on him covering a first-class round-trip ticket and arranging for her to be chaperoned at all times. She was also expected to write to her parents daily.[18] Elvis accepted these conditions, and Priscilla flew to Los Angeles. He informed her they would be travelling to Las Vegas, and to reassure her parents, he had her prepare a series of postcards—one for each day of the trip—with the intention that a member of his staff would mail them daily from Los Angeles.[23]
During the Las Vegas visit, Priscilla first experimented with amphetamines and sleeping pills in an effort to keep pace with Elvis’s lifestyle.[24] Following another visit at Christmas, her parents allowed her to relocate to Memphis permanently in mid-March 1963, two months before her 18th birthday.[14][23][25] As part of the arrangement, Elvis was expected to marry her.[23] Priscilla enrolled at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral School, an all-girls Catholic institution, and lived with Elvis’s father and stepmother at 3650 Hermitage Drive, a few streets from Graceland, until she graduated that May.[26][27][28] According to her 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, she "spent entire nights with Grandma [Elvis’s grandmother, Minnie Mae Presley] at Graceland and gradually moved [her] belongings there." She is believed to have taken up permanent residence at Graceland as early as May 1963.[29] Her parents later consented to the arrangement, contingent on Elvis’s promise to marry her.[14] Priscilla later remarked, "The move was natural. ... I was there all the time anyway."[30]
Priscilla was eager to accompany Elvis to Hollywood, but he repeatedly told her he was too busy and asked her to remain in Memphis. During that period, she read reports of an affair between Elvis and his Viva Las Vegas co-star Ann-Margret. She confronted him, and he dismissed the stories as publicity-driven rumors, urging her not to trust the press. Over the following years, Elvis had multiple intimate relationships with co-stars, though he denied each of them to Priscilla.[31] She was eventually permitted to visit him in Hollywood, but her stays were brief.[23]
Marriage and pregnancy
Elvis and Priscilla with newborn Lisa Marie, February 1968
Shortly before Christmas 1966, Elvis proposed to Priscilla, reportedly prompted by Colonel Tom Parker's reminder of RCA's "morals clause" in his record contract. In a 1973 interview with Ladies' Home Journal, Priscilla recalled that they were happy to live together, but "at that time, it wasn't nice for people to [just] live together".[32] Accounts of Elvis's attitude toward marriage vary: his cook Alberta and friend Marty Lacker described him as reluctant and upset about not having a choice, while others, including Joe Esposito, claimed he was excited to marry Priscilla.[33]
In her memoir Elvis and Me, Priscilla described Elvis as passionate but insistent that they wait until marriage before having intercourse, stating, "I'm not saying we can't do other things. It's just the actual encounter. I want to save it."[34] Priscilla said in her autobiography that she was a virgin when she married, and she and Elvis did not have sex until their wedding night. She wrote that she was a virgin on their wedding night, though biographer Suzanne Finstad disputed this, suggesting Priscilla had been sexually active earlier, including with Elvis in Germany.[35]
The couple married on May 1, 1967, at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. The ceremony, arranged by Parker for publicity, lasted eight minutesand was followed by a press conference and a $10,000 breakfast reception attended by representatives from MGM, RCA, and the William Morris Agency.[33] The wedding caused tension with several of Elvis's close friends, including Red West, who were excluded from the ceremony. Although Parker bore most of the blame, resentment lingered for years.[36]
After the reception, Elvis and Priscilla honeymooned briefly in Palm Springs before returning to Memphis on May 4.[33] They spent three weeks at their private ranch near the Mississippi border, largely alone, though some members of Elvis's inner circle joined them. Priscilla later said, "I loved playing house... No maids or housekeepers to pamper us." To mend relationships, the couple hosted a second reception at Graceland on May 29 for those not invited to the wedding.[36]
Priscilla soon discovered she was pregnant. Concerned that it might disrupt their newfound intimacy, [37] she considered an abortion, but she and Elvis ultimately decided against it. Their daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, was born on February 1, 1968 — exactly nine months after their wedding.[37]
Separation and divorce
While Elvis was filming Live a Little, Love a Little (1968), Priscilla began private dance lessons and developed a brief romantic relationship with her instructor, referred to as "Mark" in her memoir Elvis and Me. She later expressed regret, writing, "I came out of it realizing I needed much more out of my relationship with Elvis.[38] Despite affairs on both sides, the early years of their marriage were reportedly happy. However, following Elvis's 1968 television special, his career resurged, and he spent increasing time touring and performing in Las Vegas, while Priscilla remained at home with their daughter.[39]
The Presleys in October 1973 after their divorce was finalized
Encouraged by Elvis, Priscilla took up karate to share his interests and occupy her time.[40] In 1972, she met instructor Mike Stone backstage at one of Elvis's concerts and began an affair.[41] She later wrote, "I still loved Elvis, greatly, but over the next few months, I knew I would have to make a crucial decision regarding my destiny."[42] She added, "Elvis must have perceived my new restlessness."[43] According to her memoir, Elvis later summoned her to his hotel suite and "forcefully made love to me...[saying] 'This is how a real man makes love to his woman'".[43] In a later interview, Priscilla said she regretted her choice of words, calling it an overstatement.[44]
Priscilla reflected that Elvis's attempt at reconciliation came too late and lacked sensitivity. She cited his earlier comment that he had "never been able to make love to a woman who had a child"[45] and described the emotional toll of their sexual dysfunction: "I am beginning to doubt my own sexuality, as a woman. My physical and emotional needs were unfulfilled." She concluded, "this was not the gentle, understanding man I grew to love."[46] Years later, on Loose Women, Priscilla confirmed that she and Elvis did sleep together after Lisa Marie was born.[47]
The couple separated on February 24, 1972, and filed for legal separation on July 26.[48] To protect Priscilla and Lisa Marie’s privacy, Elvis filed for divorce on his 38th birthday, January 8, 1973.[32][49] Later that month, Elvis reportedly became paranoid about Mike Stone and said, "There's too much pain in me... Stone [must] die." Though he refused offers from his bodyguard to arrange a contract killing, his outbursts continued despite medical intervention.[50] The divorce was finalized on October 9, 1973.[51]
Priscilla and Elvis agreed to share custody of Lisa Marie. She received a $725,000 cash settlement, spousal and child support, 5% of Elvis's new publishing companies, and half the proceeds from the sale of their Beverly Hills home.[51] Initially, the settlement had been far smaller, but after consulting new lawyers, Priscilla revised her requests, asserting that Elvis could afford more.[52][53] The couple remained close, leaving the courthouse hand-in-hand on the day their divorce was finalized.[53]
Personal life post-1973
Though she has never remarried, Presley has had several romantic relationships since her divorce from Elvis. Immediately afterward, she lived with karate instructor Mike Stone, though the relationship ended by 1975.[54]
Beginning in 1978, Presley had a six-year intermittent live-in relationship with model Michael Edwards, which ended after he allegedly developed inappropriate feelings toward Lisa Marie.[55] She later alleged that Edwards molested her during his relationship with her mother.[56][57]
Presley's longest relationship was with Brazilian screenwriter-turned-computer-programmer Marco Antonio Garcia (also known as Marco Garibaldi), with whom she lived for 22 years. They were introduced by a mutual friend in 1984 after Presley read a script Garibaldi had written. Their son, Navarone Garibaldi, was born on March 1, 1987, while Presley was starring in Dallas; her pregnancy was written into the show’s storyline.[58] The couple separated in 2006.[23] At the beginning of their relationship, Presley reportedly had Garibaldi sign a promissory agreement stating he would not write a book about her if they broke up.[59]
Through Lisa Marie, Presley has four grandchildren, including actress Riley Keough. Her grandson, Benjamin Keough, died by suicide in July 2020 at the age of 27.[60] She became a great-grandmother in 2022 through Keough.[61] Lisa Marie died on January 12, 2023, at age 54, following cardiac arrest and complications from bariatric surgery.[62]
Shortly after Lisa Marie’s death, Presley filed a lawsuit against Riley Keough over control of Elvis’s family trust. The case ended in a settlement in which Presley received a $1 million payment from Lisa Marie’s $25 million lump-sum fund, an annual stipend of $100,000, and the right to be buried near Elvis at Graceland.[63][64] On November 6, 2023, Presley stated during a press conference in Las Vegas that she had never intended to remarry following her divorce from Elvis.[65]
On August 11, 2025, Presley’s former business partners, Brigette Kruse and Kevin Fialko, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging fraud, breach of contract, and claiming that Presley “pulled the plug” on Lisa Marie’s life support in order to “regain control” of Elvis’s family trust.[66] Presley and Keough denied the allegations, calling them “deeply hurtful.”[67]
Designation of Graceland mansion as a National Historic Landmark in 2006, l-r Jack Soden, Priscilla Presley and United States Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton
In 1973, following her separation from her husband, Presley set up a clothing boutique in Los Angeles called Bis & Beau with her friend and stylist Olivia Bis.[32] In a 1973 interview to promote the opening of the store, Priscilla said, "After the separation, I had to make up my mind about what I wanted to do, and since I had worked with Olivia for such a long time on my own clothes, I decided to try it professionally. We both do the designing for the shop, and have people who sew for us."[32] Elvis, supportive of Priscilla's business, contacted several friends in public relations to help promote the launch.[68] The shop was a successful business venture, with celebrity clients including Diana Ross, Carol Burnett, Jill Ireland, Mary Tyler Moore, Victoria Principal, Michelle Phillips, Dyan Cannon, Julie Christie, Suzanne Pleshette, Cher, Liza Minnelli, Lana Turner, Barbra Streisand, and Natalie Wood shopping there regularly.[69] The shop closed in 1976.[70]
After Elvis's death in 1977, his father Vernon was one of the executors of his estate, which was held in trust for his daughter Lisa Marie. Vernon named Priscilla to be his successor upon his death. She assumed the role following Vernon's 1979 death.[71] Graceland itself cost $500,000 a year in upkeep, and expenses had dwindled Lisa Marie's inheritance to only $1 million. Taxes due on the property and other expenses due came to over $500,000.[72] Faced with having to sell Graceland, Presley examined other public homes and museums. She hired a CEO, Jack Soden, to turn Graceland into a tourist attraction. Graceland was opened to the public on June 7, 1982. Only four weeks after opening Graceland's doors, the estate made back all the money it had invested. Priscilla became the chairperson and president of Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), stating that she would remain in the position until Lisa Marie reached 21 years of age. Under Priscilla Presley's guidance, the enterprise's fortunes soared and eventually the trust grew to be worth over $100 million.
In 1988, Presley launched her own fragrance, Moments, and followed this up with a range of best-selling perfumes in the 1990s – Experiences in 1993, Indian Summer in 1996, and Roses and More in 1998.[23] She has also successfully sold her line of products live on the Home Shopping Network and was coached by veteran HSN host Bob Circosta.
In 2006, Presley flew to Sydney, Australia for the debut of her worldwide line of bed linens called the Priscilla Presley Collection. She partnered with Australian designer Bruno Schiavi for the line.[73] She has helped to produce feature films including Breakfast with Einstein and Finding Graceland.[23] In September 2000, Presley was elected to the board of directors at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[74] In 2015 Presley became the executive producer of a 14-track album titled If I Can Dream: Elvis Presley With the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. She said, "If Elvis were here, he would be evolving and taking risks, seemingly like everybody else today".[75] Also in that year the U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan and Priscilla Presley dedicated an Elvis "forever" stamp, which featured a 1955 black-and-white image shot by photographer William Speer. It was Priscilla's second dedication of a USPS stamp honoring her ex-husband. The first Elvis stamp, issued in 1993,[76] were the most popular stamps sold in the Postal Service's history. This second contribution also made Elvis Presley the first musical artist to be featured in two different issues of its commemorative stamps collections.[77]
On August 16, 2019, it was announced that Presley, in conjunction with John Eddie, as well as Sony Pictures, would create and produce Agent Elvis, a Netflix adult animated fictional series about her former husband working as a spy by night while remaining a musician during the day. The series' first teaser was published on the official Elvis Instagram account on June 15, 2022. The image showed an illustrated Elvis donning a black trench coat. Presley was featured as a cast member in the show, voicing her own animation character.[78][79][80]
Acting career
Presley had shown an interest in dancing and modelling and had modeled for a local store once. Hal B. Wallis, a Hollywood producer who had financed many of Elvis's earlier films, showed interest in signing Priscilla to a contract. However, during her marriage she never pursued these activities as a career, instead calling acting or filmmaking a hobby. Priscilla was sensitive about Elvis's opinion, because he did not want to let Priscilla have her own career, repeating the then-popular saying, "A woman's place is in the home looking after her man". Priscilla neither pursued fashion modelling nor did she sign any exclusive contracts, instead choosing to comply with her husband's wishes.[23]
Presley had originally been offered a role as one of the leads on Charlie's Angels. She turned down the role because she disliked the show.[81] Presley made her television debut as co-host of Those Amazing Animals in 1980.[70][82] In 1983, she had her first professional acting role on a season 2 episode of The Fall Guy titled "Manhunter".[23] She then went on to play in a television film titled Love is Forever, starring alongside Michael Landon.[83] Although she was treated well by most of the cast and crew, and her acting was praised by several of her co-stars, she found Landon difficult to work with on set. After the television film aired, Presley took on the role of Jenna Wade in the primetime soap opera Dallas. As the third actor to portray Jenna (after Morgan Fairchild and Francine Tacker), she played the role for the longest of the three after the character was expanded and Presley became a series regular. In 1988, after five years, Presley left the show. During her tenure on the series, she was also offered the role of Bond girlStacey Sutton in A View to a Kill (1985), but she had to decline the role due to scheduling conflicts.[84] The role ultimately went to former Charlie's Angels star Tanya Roberts.
Priscilla is the biopic focusing on her relationship with Elvis, which was directed by Sofia Coppola.[88]
Charity work and activism
Since 2003, Presley has been the Ambassador of the Dream Foundation, a Santa Barbara-based wish-granting organization for terminally ill adults and their families.[89][90]
Priscilla Presley joined the Church of Scientology along with her daughter after Elvis's death.[91][92] In 2006, she helped inaugurate Narconon's Stonehawk Rehabilitation Center in Michigan.[93][94] When Lisa Marie left Scientology by 2016, it was reported that Priscilla had also distanced herself from the church at the same time,[92] however, in October 2017 Priscilla Presley's representative denied that she had left the church.[95]
In 2013, Presley spoke out against a 2013 agricultural gag law that would have criminalized unauthorized filming or recording on farms. In a letter to Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam she spoke of her and Elvis's love of horses and expressed concerns that the bill would hinder animal cruelty investigations and reduce protections for horses and other farm animals.[96]
Honors
Presley was conferred the degree of Doctor of Humanities by Rhodes College in 1998.[97] She was named godmother of the largest river steamboat ever built, American Queen, christened April 27, 2012 at its home port in Memphis.[98] The AutoZone Liberty Bowl chose her as its 2018 Distinguished Citizen Award winner.[99] On July 22, 2022, Theatre Memphis honored her contributions to Memphis art and tourism with a gala, "Honoring Priscilla Presley: The Artist, The Woman", featuring more than a dozen speakers and a live musical tribute.[100] She has a square named after her in Egersund, Norway – "Priscilla Presleys plass". The area is in the street outside the house where her grandfather was born in 1899, and lived.[101] In 2025, Presley was honored with Tennessee's highest civilian award for her contributions to the state's cultural heritage and her role in preserving Graceland as a historic landmark.[102]
↑ "1963 January – June". Elvispresleypedia.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. January 11 – Elvis tried to convince Priscilla's parents to let her stay in Memphis, but she had to fly home on schedule to Frankfurt, West Germany." "January 21 – The production on the new Hal Wallis picture, Fun in Acapulco, began." "March 2 – Priscilla arrived in Los Angeles with her father, Captain Paul Beaulieu, to meet with Elvis and to conclude arrangements permitting Priscilla to live in Memphis with Vernon and Dee and complete her senior year at Immaculate Conception High School. Elvis assured Priscilla's father that his parents would take good care of her and that she would get a good education at the Catholic parochial school. "March 22 – Elvis was released from duties after Hal Wallis had seen and approved the film. Elvis left for Memphis right away, because Priscilla was there waiting for him.
↑ "Press-Scimitar Staff Photo by Ken Ross". Memphis Press-Scimitar. Vol.83, no.202. June 27, 1963. p.1. Miss Beaulieu is now living with Elvis' father and step-mother, Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Presley, 3650 Hermitage and recently graduated from Immaculate Conception high school.
↑ "In her book and in other public forums, Priscilla, perpetuating the myth, would say that her first night of marriage in the upstairs master bedroom of the Palm Springs house was the moment when she lost her virginity – conveniently overlooking her previous sexual relationships with ... Tommy Stewart, Peter von Wechmar, Jamie Lindberg, and possibly Ron Tapp, not to mention Currie's claim that she had confessed to having had intercourse with Elvis during their first few months in Germany."See Finstad, p. 211.
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