(1945-)

Who Is Priscilla Presley?

American actress and businesswoman Priscilla Presley, the ex-wife of cultural icon Elvis Presley and mother of singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley, was born on May 24, 1945. She starred in three Naked Gun movies with Leslie Nielsen, and played the character Jenna Wade on the television series Dallas. Presley founded Elvis Presley Enterprises, and helped to turn Graceland into a multimillion-dollar tourist attraction.

Son

Presley lived with boyfriend and Italian screenwriter Marco Garibaldi from 1984 to 2006. She and Garibaldi, who never married, have a son, Navaronne (b. 1987). Presley now shares the joys of motherhood with daughter Lisa Marie, who has four children Danielle Riley, Benjamin, and twins Finley and Harper.

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Marriage to Elvis Presley

Eight years after they met, Priscilla and Elvis were married in Las Vegas, Nevada. Their daughter, Lisa Marie, was born the following year, in 1968. Although their marriage didn’t last (they divorced in 1973), Elvis and Priscilla remained friends, and raised Lisa Marie together, until his death in 1977.

Presley became the executor of Elvis’s estate, Graceland, in 1979, and proved herself to be a successful businesswoman, turning Elvis Presley Enterprises, of which she is chairwoman and president, into a profitable business.

Performance Artist

Presley had begun studying acting while she was married to Elvis, and after a few TV appearances, she joined the cast of the hugely popular night-time soap opera Dallas. In 1984, she won a Soap Opera Digest Award for her role as Jenna Wade Krebbs (1983-88).

In 1985, Presley published the bestselling memoir Elvis and Me, and she produced the TV movie based on her book in 1988. Presley then starred in three Naked Gun movies with Leslie Nielsen (between 1988 and 1994).

In the late 1990s, Presley started a line of fragrances, and developed a line of clothing and skin-care products. In 2002, she was announced her intent to co-produce a musical theater production, Elvis and Priscilla, based on her romance with the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

In 2008, Presley garnered new fame, this time for her dancing skills, when she performed as a contestant on the hit series Dancing with the Stars (season 6).

Early Life

Priscilla Presley was born Priscilla Ann Wagner on May 24, 1945 in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, James Wagner, was a US Navy pilot who was killed in an plane crash when Pricilla was only a few months old. Her mother, Ann, remarried Paul Beaulieu, an Air Force officer, in 1948.Her family moved several times and was stationed in Germany when she was a teenager. It was there, she met Elvis Presley in 1959, when she was 14. At that time, Elvis was serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. They began a romance, and Priscilla eventually followed Elvis to the United States.

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QUICK FACTS

  • Birth Year: 1945
  • Birth date: May 24, 1945
  • Birth State: New York
  • Birth City: Brooklyn
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Female
  • Best Known For: Priscilla Presley is an American businesswoman and actress, best known for marrying Elvis Presley, with whom she had daughter Lisa Marie Presley.
  • Industries
    • Comedy
    • Television
  • Astrological Sign: Gemini

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CITATION INFORMATION

  • Article Title: Priscilla Presley Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/musician/priscilla-presley
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: August 14, 2019
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014