Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla is the sumptuous adaptation of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley’s 1987 novel “Elvis and Me,” which chronicles Priscilla’s turbulent marriage to Elvis Aaron Presley, considered the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Though there will undoubtedly be comparisons between Jacob Elordi and Austin Butler’s Elvis after Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic just last year, this is emphatically Cailee Spaeny’s story as Priscilla. There are some big changes to Priscilla’s book but it follows the novel’s basic structure and begins with 14-year-old Priscilla meeting Elvis while he was serving in the US Army in Germany, chronicles their whirlwind courtship and marriage, and concludes with her leaving him and Graceland behind.
Spaeny is one of eight other actresses who have portrayed Priscilla Presley in significant movies and TV miniseries that have examined her marriage to Elvis. While she was given some of the most prominent screen time to develop Priscilla into a complex person who both loved and loathed Elvis at different times rather than a caricature, other performers have put their own unique perspective on a woman as integral to Elvis’s legacy and enduring appeal as a pop culture icon as The King himself. These are the other actresses who have interpreted Priscilla
8 Season Hubley In Elvis
1979 TV Movie
Made just two years after The King passed away, the TV movie Elvis came out to immortalize his legacy and examine his status as an icon of rock ‘n’ roll. Season Hubley portrayed Priscilla opposite Kurt Russell’s Elvis Presley in the latter half of the film, after an extensive section on his early years with Gladys and Vernon in Mississippi and Tennessee. Given that this film sought to portray Elvis in the most sympathetic light, Priscilla’s story is not the focus but no less crucially painted as important during his meteoric rise to stardom. Their chemistry was palpable, and Hubley would be married to Russell for 4 years.
7 Susan Walters In Elvis And Me
1988 TV Miniseries
The 1988 TV miniseries Elvis and Me was the first adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s book of the same name, written in 1987, ten years after Elvis died. Susan Walters portrayed Priscilla through her initial meeting and subsequent turbulent marriage to The King, played by Dale Midkiff, in this 2-part series. Elvis and Me covered 14 years, from the time Priscilla and Elvis met in Germany during his stint in the army, through their marriage from the time she was 21 until 28, and her life after living in Graceland. Walters does a commendable job portraying a woman in a complicated relationship full of as much sorrow as it was love.
6 Kehli O’Byrne In Elvis And The Colonel
1993 TV Movie
The tempestuous and morally ambiguous relationship between Elvis Presley and Colonel Tom Parker was made into a TV movie called Elvis and the Colonel: The Untold Story in 1993. Due to primarily focusing on Beau Bridges’ Colonel Parker and Robert Youngblood’s Elvis, Kehli O’Byrne’s Priscilla doesn’t have a lot of screen time and gets somewhat lost in the middling drama. O’Byrne does her best as she acts as a buoy in a dark sea for a lost young rockstar struggling with new fame and the manipulative machinations of his capital-obsessed manager.
5 Alyson Court In Elvis Meets Nixon
1997 Movie
While some Elvis media chose to focus on his singing career, Elvis Meets Nixon chose to examine a specific period of time in December 1970 when Elvis (Rick Peters) went alone to Washington, D.C. in order to have a private meeting with President Nixon (Bob Gunton). What they discussed has never been released, but given Elvis’s stance on substance use in the country at the time, it’s suspected they discussed him joining Nixon’s anti-drug committee. Alyson Court’s Priscilla is more of a background character given the plot, but its mockumentary style allows for a more humorous approach to her life and the colorful characters in it.
4 Antonia Bernath In Elvis
2006 TV Miniseries
The TV miniseries Elvis that was released on CBS in 2006 chronicled Elvis’s early years and his rise to fame, from high school until super stardom. Antonia Bernath played Priscilla opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ Elvis, bringing empathy and complexity to a supporting role that doesn’t have a lot of screen time given how much emphasis is placed on his early life. This 173-minute extravaganza was made with the complete access to original recordings and media from the Presley Estate and it shows.
3 Ashley Greene In Shangri-La Suite
Fictional 2016 Movie
Shangria-La Suite was released in 2016 and while it pertains to Elvis Presley and features Priscilla, it’s not a biopic by any means. The drama takes place in 1974 and examines the mental state of Luke Grimes’ Jack Blueblood and Emily Browning’s Karen, who break out of a hospital in order to find and kill The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Ron Livingston plays Elvis Presley and Ashley Green is Priscilla, and the pair are much more engaging than the leads in this thriller that will appeal to both Elvis and Priscilla aficionados and true-crime fans.
2 Olivia De Jonge In Elvis
2022 Movie
In Baz Luhrmann’s dazzling biopic Elvis, The King’s rise and fall is told from the point of view of Tom Hanks’ avuncular but no less insidious Colonel Parker, who preys on Austin Butler’s sympathetic Elvis Presley throughout his career. Olivia de Jonge makes a picture-perfect Priscilla, but unfortunately, she isn’t given much to do except be an object of The King’s affection and a bastion of solace for him during the years he abused substances to endure a grueling tour schedule and ravenous fans. This is very much Butler’s movie, and the up-and-coming actor was nominated for Best Actor for his performance.
1 Cailee Spaeny In Priscilla
2023 Movie
Priscilla focuses on its titular character completely, adapting Priscilla’s Elvis and Me novel with great attention to detail. Cailee Spaeny’s Priscilla is finally shown as a complex person, and Jacob Elordi’s Elvis is depicted as a tyrannical partner with the capacity to love as emphatically as he attempted to control Priscilla’s image. Priscilla was never shy about weighing Elvis’s faults against his virtues and taking responsibility for her own flaws, and while it rushes through her life after Graceland, Priscilla gives a voice to a spunky army brat who thought marrying Elvis would offer the means to an exciting life, only to trade one gilded cage for another.
