Numerous biographical films depict the life of Elvis Presley, but Priscilla shifts its focus to his ex-wife, Priscilla Presley (née Beaulieu). The 2023 drama, which premieres in theaters everywhere on November 3, is based on Priscilla’s 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, and Priscilla herself was very involved in the making of the movie (she served as an executive producer, so the project obviously has her stamp of approval). So, it might be safe to assume that the film will be an as-close-as-possible depiction of Priscilla’s life with the King of Rock and Roll. But her story was truly just beginning after she separated from Elvis.
Cailee Spaeny stars as Priscilla Presley in Priscilla, while Jacob Elordi plays the singer in the 2023 movie. Aside from those two actors, the rest of the cast includes Dagmara Domińczyk as Ann Beaulieu, Raine Monroe Boland and Emily Mitchell as Lisa Marie Presley, Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll as Alan “Hog Ears,” Tim Post as Vernon Presley, Ari Cohen as Paul Beaulieu, Luke Humphrey as Terry West, Dan Beirne as Joe Esposito, Stephanie Moore as Dee Presley, Olivia Barrett as Alberta, and Evan Annisette as Mike Stone. They all come together to tell the story of how Priscilla met Elvis, their controversial romance, and how it came to an end.
Priscilla Presley Divorced Elvis In 1973
Priscilla Presley was 14 years old when she met Elvis (who was 24) on September 13, 1959, in Bad Nauheim, Germany. Elvis was stationed there while serving with the United States Army, and Priscilla’s family had moved to the European country when her adoptive father, Paul Beaulieu, who was a United States Air Force officer, was transferred there. Despite their age difference, Priscilla and Elvis began a relationship, and they later got engaged seven years later, when Priscilla was 21 years old. The couple married on May 1, 1967, at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, their romance sadly had an expiration date.
Priscilla and Elvis were married for five years before they separated on February 24, 1972, and Elvis officially filed for divorce on January 8, 1973. The divorce was finalized later that year on October 9. Prior to their breakup, both Priscilla and Elvis had engaged in extramarital affairs. But it was Priscilla’s relationship with a karate instructor named Mike Stone that set the final fire to the high-profile marriage. Priscilla and Elvis’ romance could not survive this latest blow, especially since they had been growing apart for a while, and, as a result, they got divorced. However, since they shared a daughter, the two maintained a healthy relationship following their separation. Related: Priscilla Review: Jacob Elordi & Cailee Spaeny Stun In Sophia Coppola’s Lush Biopic
Elvis Presley Died In 1977
A few years following Priscilla and Elvis’ divorce, the King of Rock and Roll died on August 16, 1977, at the age of 42, at his Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee. His fiancée at the time, Ginger Alden, found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor, and the singer was rushed to Baptist Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. According to USA Today, Elvis’ cause of death was a cardiac arrhythmia, which was brought on by drug abuse.
How Elvis died has been a source of dispute following that tragic day at Graceland, and it always comes back to how drugs played a role in his death. The singer had an addiction problem, and his eating habits had taken a turn for the worse in the years leading up to August 16, 1977. Elvis’ health problems, mixed with extremely high levels of various opiates found in his system during his autopsy, led to his death, and the world immediately started mourning one of the most prolific singers in history.
Priscilla Presley’s Acting & Movie Career
Following her divorce from Elvis, Priscilla Presley launched her acting career. During her marriage with the King of Rock and Roll, Priscilla was seemingly confined to playing the role of the housewife and mother, but once she was free from those limits, she decided to pursue one of her passions — acting. Priscilla first appeared on television when she was hired as the co-host of Those Amazing Animals in 1980. Following the reality series’ end in 1981, Priscilla continued to win roles in a plethora of television shows and movies.
Some of her acting credits include Love Is Forever, The Fall Guy, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, Melrose Place, Touched by an Angel, and Spin City. However, Priscilla is most known for her starring role as Jenna Wade in the primetime soap opera series Dallas, which ran for 14 seasons from April 2, 1978, to May 3, 1991. Priscilla’s version of the character (Jenna was previously played by Morgan Fairchild and Francine Tacker) was introduced in season 7. She went on to appear in 143 episodes before exiting the series in 1988. Priscilla was also a contestant on Dancing with the Stars season 6, where she came in eighth place.
Priscilla Presley Has 1 Daughter & Multiple Grandchildren (Including Riley Keough)
Soon after Elvis and Priscilla Presley married in 1967, Priscilla found out she was pregnant. She gave birth to the couple’s only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, on February 1, 1968. Almost 20 years later, Priscilla got pregnant again with her partner, Marco Garibaldi. She met the screenwriter/computer programmer in 1984, and they were together until they broke up in 2006. Her pregnancy was written into Dallas, and Priscilla gave birth to her and Garibaldi’s son, Navarone Garibaldi, on March 1, 1987.
Lisa Marie followed in her father’s footsteps and became a singer. She married Danny Keough in 1988, and the couple had two daughters — Riley Keough (an actress who most recently starred in Daisy Jones & the Six) and Benjamin Keough (who died by suicide in 2020). After divorcing Keough, Lisa Marie married Michael Jackson, Nicolas Cage, and then Michael Lockwood. During her fourth marriage, she gave birth to twin girls, Harper and Finley Lockwood, in 2008. Lisa Marie sadly died on January 12, 2023, at the age of 54 when she suffered a heart attack at her home in Los Angeles.
Priscilla Presley’s Memoir Becomes The Basis Of Sofia Coppola’s Movie
As mentioned above, Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir Elvis and Me serves as the inspiration for the 2023 film Priscilla. The movie, directed and written by Sofia Coppola, will mostly revolve around Priscilla’s relationship with Elvis, as depicted in the novel. The book reveals details about Priscilla meeting Elvis, their whirlwind romance, and every factor that led to their eventual divorce in 1973. Priscilla has received positive reviews from numerous critics, and it opens in theaters everywhere on November 3.
