January 12, 2023 Lisa Marie Presley news

January 12, 2023 Lisa Marie Presley news

By Tori B. Powell, Chloe Melas and Tara Subramaniam, CNN

Updated 8:29 a.m. ET, January 13, 2023
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8:29 a.m. ET, January 13, 2023

Our live coverage of Lisa Marie Presley has moved here.

1:27 a.m. ET, January 13, 2023

Lisa Marie Presley's life in pictures

Lisa Marie Presley, the only daughter of the late Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley, died Thursday, hours after being hospitalized following an apparent cardiac arrest. She was 54.

Born at the height of Elvis's fame in 1968, Lisa Marie Presley was seen as the princess to the man celebrated as "the King of rock 'n' roll."

Elvis and Priscilla Presley hold their newborn daughter, Lisa Marie, in February 1968. She was born in Memphis, Tennessee. 
Elvis and Priscilla Presley hold their newborn daughter, Lisa Marie, in February 1968. She was born in Memphis, Tennessee.  (Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

She launched her music career in 2003 with a debut studio album, “To Whom It May Concern,” which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and was certified gold that summer. She wrote almost all the lyrics on the album and co-wrote every melody.

At the time, Lisa Marie Presley told Larry King that she had to “park” feelings of pressure and comparison to her legendary singer dad.

Lisa Marie Presley performs during a rehearsal at the M Bar in London on May 12, 2003.
Lisa Marie Presley performs during a rehearsal at the M Bar in London on May 12, 2003. (Peter Macdiarmid/Reuters)

Tributes to Presley poured in as news of her death spread Thursday.

In an Instagram post, Rita Wilson said she and her husband, Tom Hanks, had recently spent time with the Presley family during the "Elvis" movie promotional tour

"Our hearts are broken with the sudden and shocking passing of Lisa Marie Presley tonight," Wilson said. "Lisa Marie was so honest and direct, vulnerable, in a state of anticipation about the movie. She spoke so eloquently about her father, what the movie meant to her, that it was a celebration of her dad."

From left, Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough have their handprints made at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in June 2022. 
From left, Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough have their handprints made at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in June 2022.  (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

Actor John Travolta wrote that he’d miss his friend “but I know I’ll see you again.”

“My love and heart goes out to Riley, Priscilla, Harper and Finley,” he wrote on Instagram, referring to her three surviving children and mother.

See more photos from Lisa Marie Presley's life here.

1:07 a.m. ET, January 13, 2023

Lisa Marie Presley experienced the tragedy of losing a child

From CNN's Dan Heching

Lisa Marie Presley (C), with her children Riley and Benjamin Keough (R), attend the 75th birthday celebration for Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee on January 8, 2010. 
Lisa Marie Presley (C), with her children Riley and Benjamin Keough (R), attend the 75th birthday celebration for Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee on January 8, 2010.  (Nikki Boertman/Reuters)

Lisa Marie Presley, who died Thursday aged 54, said last year that she was still grieving the death of her son.

In 2020, Presley’s son Benjamin Keough died by suicide at the age of 27. Last July, she marked the second anniversary of Keough’s death on Instagram, sharing a photo of their matching foot tattoos.

Last September, she wrote an essay for National Grief Awareness Day, in which she opened up about the loss of her son.

“My and my three daughters’ lives as we knew it were completely detonated and destroyed by his death. We live in this every. Single. Day,” she wrote. “Grief is something you will have to carry with you for the rest of your life, in spite of what certain people or our culture wants us to believe. You do not ‘get over it,’ you do not ‘move on,’ period.”

Presley also said in the essay that she found comfort in the company of people who have faced similar tragedy, adding that her daughters help keep her grounded.

“I keep going for my girls,” she wrote. “I keep going because my son made it very clear in his final moments that taking care of his little sisters and looking out for them were on the forefront of his concerns and his mind. He absolutely adored them and they him.”

1:12 a.m. ET, January 13, 2023

Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage were among Lisa Marie Presley's high-profile nuptials

From CNN's Dan Heching

 Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley in France on September 5, 1994.
 Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley in France on September 5, 1994. (Stephane Cardinale/Sygma/Getty Images)

Parallel to her musical pursuits, Lisa Marie Presley was married four times, including to music superstar Michael Jackson and actor Nicolas Cage.

She wed musician Danny Keough in 1988, with whom she had a daughter, Riley Keough, and son Benjamin Storm Keough.

The pair divorced in May 1994, and roughly three weeks later, Lisa Marie married Jackson in a ceremony that made headlines worldwide.

She noted of Jackson in a 2003 interview with ABC News and Diane Sawyer: “When he wants to lock into you, when he wants to intrigue you or capture you, or you know, whatever he wants to do with you, he can do it.” She added that she “fell into this whole, ‘You poor, sweet, misunderstood man, I’m going to save you.’ … I fell in love with him.”

Their marriage ended in January 1996.

Two years later, she wed Cage after meeting him at a party, but only stayed married to him for three months, from August to November of 2002. The divorce was finalized in 2004.

"This is devastating news," Cage said Thursday in a statement provided by his manager. "Lisa had the greatest laugh of anyone I ever met. She lit up every room, and I am heartbroken."

Her fourth marriage came in 2006, to her guitarist, music producer and director Michael Lockwood. The pair welcomed twins Finley Aaron Love Lockwood and Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood in 2007. They divorced in 2016.

Presley died Thursday after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest. She was 54.

Read more here.

1:12 a.m. ET, January 13, 2023

How Lisa Marie Presley made her own mark in music

From CNN's Dan Heching

Lisa Marie Presley performs live to promote her album "Storm & Grace" at the Blue Note in Tokyo on April 10, 2014.
Lisa Marie Presley performs live to promote her album "Storm & Grace" at the Blue Note in Tokyo on April 10, 2014. (Jun Sato/WireImage/Getty Images)

Lisa Marie Presley, who died Thursday at age 54, was the eventual sole heir to her father Elvis’ estate, as well as his sprawling Memphis, Tennessee mansion Graceland.

Her father’s mighty and ever-looming legacy didn’t, however, steer her away from her desire to pursue a career in music in her own right.

Lisa Marie launched her career in 2003 with a debut studio album, “To Whom It May Concern,” which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and was certified gold that summer. She wrote almost all the lyrics on the album and co-wrote every melody.

At the time, Lisa Marie told Larry King she had to “park” feelings of pressure and comparisons to her legendary singer dad.

“If I had been thinking about that, worrying about that, which I kind of had for a long time I would have never done what was sort of innately in my heart, in my soul,” she said. “So I had to stop being worried about that, it was too intimidating otherwise.”

Also around the same time, Lisa Marie reflected on whether her famous name was a hindrance or a help, telling Playboy she didn’t “ask tabloids to chase me around every week.”

But, she added, she “would never take back any part of who I am or where I came from.”

“I would never want to be part of anything else,” she said. “I’m honored and proud of my family and my dad.”

That first record was followed by two additional albums, 2005’s “Now What” and “Storm & Grace” in 2012.

1:12 a.m. ET, January 13, 2023

Lisa Marie Presley grew up in the spotlight

From CNN's Dan Heching

Lisa Marie Presley poses at the Wonderwall portrait studio in Nashville, Tennessee on June 5, 2013 .
Lisa Marie Presley poses at the Wonderwall portrait studio in Nashville, Tennessee on June 5, 2013 . (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

As the only daughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley, singer Lisa Marie Presley spent her life in the spotlight from the start. 

And the public interest in her life — from her marriages to her private tragedies — never waned until, much like her father, she was taken too soon. 

Lisa Marie Presley died Thursday after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest. She was 54.

Her childhood: Born at the height of Elvis’ fame in 1968, Lisa Marie Presley was seen as the princess to the man celebrated as “the King of rock ‘n’ roll.”

Elvis and Priscilla Presley separated in 1972 when their daughter was 4 years old, and she was only 9 when her father died in 1977. He was 42.

Soon, she began acting out and experimenting with drugs, resulting in her mother sending her to a series of private schools, including a boarding school in Ojai. Lisa Marie Presley noted to the Los Angeles Times in 2003 that as a child, she “was kind of a loner, a melancholy and strange child.”

“I had a real self-destructive mode for a while,” she told the publication. “I never really fit into school. I didn’t really have any direction.”
11:53 p.m. ET, January 12, 2023

Nicolas Cage: "This is devastating news"

From CNN's Jacqueline Rose

Lisa Marie Presley and Nicolas Cage in Los Angeles on August 14, 2001.
Lisa Marie Presley and Nicolas Cage in Los Angeles on August 14, 2001. (J. Vespa/WireImage/Getty Images)

Actor Nicolas Cage, who was Lisa Marie Presley's third husband, said news of her death was "devastating."

"This is devastating news. Lisa had the greatest laugh of anyone I ever met. She lit up every room, and I am heartbroken," Cage said in a statement provided by his manager.

"I find some solace believing she is reunited with her son Benjamin," Cage added, referring to Presley’s son Benjamin Keough, who died by suicide in 2020.

Some context: Cage and Presley got married in August 2002 but broke up less than four months later, with statements from both parties at the time seeming to indicate irreconcilable differences.

11:10 p.m. ET, January 12, 2023

More tributes pour in for Lisa Marie Presley

Tributes are pouring in for Lisa Marie Presley across social media following her death on Thursday.

In an Instagram post, Rita Wilson said she and her husband, Tom Hanks, had recently spent time with the Presley family during the "Elvis" movie promotional tour

"Our hearts are broken with the sudden and shocking passing of Lisa Marie Presley tonight," Wilson said. "Lisa Marie was so honest and direct, vulnerable, in a state of anticipation about the movie. She spoke so eloquently about her father, what the movie meant to her, that it was a celebration of her dad."

Actress Jennifer Tilly said on Twitter she had visited Graceland — Elvis Presley's famed home and estate — just yesterday, where a guide told her group that Lisa Marie "would have dinners in the dining room, and once she had a party for her friends in the plane named after her."

"Rip sweet soul," Tilly said.

Actress Octavia Spencer tweeted that "we’ve lost another bright star in Lisa Marie Presley." 

Actress Mia Farrow shared images of Lisa Marie, including several with her father Elvis. "Just so very sad," she tweeted. "There are burdens few can see or understand."

And TV host Andy Cohen said in a tweet that he was "so sad" following news of Lisa Marie's death.

10:01 p.m. ET, January 12, 2023

A look at Lisa Marie Presley's life

From CNN’s Dan Heching

Lisa Marie Presley performs in concert at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City New Jersey on November 10, 2012.
Lisa Marie Presley performs in concert at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City New Jersey on November 10, 2012. (Donald Kravitz/Getty Images)

Born at the height of Elvis’s fame in 1968, Lisa Marie Presley grew up squarely in the spotlight as the daughter of the man celebrated as “the King of rock ’n’ roll.” 

Elvis and Priscilla Presley separated in 1972 when their daughter was 4 years old, and she was only 9 when her father died in 1977. 

Soon, she began acting out and experimenting with drugs, resulting in her mother sending her to a series of private schools, including a boarding school in Ojai, California.

Presley later launched her career in 2003 with a debut studio album, “To Whom It May Concern,” which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and was certified gold that summer. She wrote almost all the lyrics on the album and co-wrote every melody. 

Parallel her musical pursuits, Presley had been married four times: First to musician Danny Keough, then to singer Michael Jackson, Nicholas Cage and then Michael Lockwood. She had four children: Riley Keough, Benjamin Keough, Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood and Finley Aaron Love Lockwood.

In 2020, Presley’s son Benjamin Keough died by suicide at the age of 27. Last July, she marked the second anniversary of Keough’s death on Instagram, sharing a photo of their matching foot tattoos.

In September, Presley wrote an essay for National Grief Awareness Day, in which she opened up about the loss of her son.

“My and my three daughters’ lives as we knew it were completely detonated and destroyed by his death. We live in this every. Single. Day,” she wrote. “Grief is something you will have to carry with you for the rest of your life, in spite of what certain people or our culture wants us to believe. You do not ‘get over it,’ you do not ‘move on,’ period.”