Singer 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, her mother said. She was 54.
“Priscilla Presley and the Presley family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Lisa Marie,” Priscilla Presley said in the statement. “They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.” Lisa Marie Presley had been rushed to the hospital earlier in the day, her mother said on Instagram. “Please keep her and our family in your prayers. We feel the prayers from around the world and ask for privacy during this time,” her statement said at the time.
Lisa Marie Presley was most recently seen at the Golden Globe Awards, which she attended with her mother to support the Baz Luhrmann film “Elvis,” about her late father. 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 separated in 1972 when their daughter was four years old, and she was only nine when her father died in 197 at 42 years old. Soon, she began acting out and experimenting with drugs, resulting in her mother sending her to several 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.” Lisa Marie Presley 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 Presley told Larry King that she had to “park” feelings of pressure and comparison to her legendary singer dad. 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 a son Benjamin Storm Keough. The pair divorced in May 1994, and roughly three weeks later, Lisa Marie Presley married Jackson in a ceremony that made headlines worldwide.
Lisa Marie was also a dedicated philanthropist, as she long oversaw the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation, which benefits homeless families and offers rent-free housing, daycare for children and other services to families in need. She also worked with Oprah Winfrey‘s Angel Network to provide relief to those affected by Hurricane Katrina and the Dream Factory to benefit children with life-threatening illnesses or disabilities.
In 2020, Lisa Marie Presley’s son Benjamin Keough died by suicide at 27. Last July, she marked the second anniversary of Keough’s death on Instagram, sharing a photo of their matching foot tattoos. Tributes to Lisa Marie Presley poured in as news of her passing spread.
“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 Mike Nilon. “I find some solace believing she is reunited with her son Benjamin.” Actor John Travolta wrote that he’d miss his friend, “but I know I’ll see you again.” Lisa Marie Presley will be remembered as a dedicated mother and inspiring artist.