Photo: David French · CC BY 2.0
His first wife · 1968–2023
Lisa Marie Presley
The only child of Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson's first wife — a marriage that briefly joined two of the most consequential names in popular music. She built a life of her own as a singer and mother of four, and spoke candidly about loss and addiction until her death in 2023.
Heritage
Elvis's only child
Born February 1, 1968 in Memphis, Lisa Marie was the only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley — and sole heir to her father's estate and to Graceland. She inherited the estate at 25 (1993, valued around $100 million), and in 2005 sold about 85% of Elvis Presley Enterprises while keeping ownership of Graceland itself.
1994–1996
Marriage to Michael Jackson
They had first crossed paths years earlier — she reportedly attended one of his shows as a child — and reconnected as adults in 1992–93. They married on May 26, 1994 in the Dominican Republic, keeping it secret at first. The union met widespread skepticism, framed by many as a PR move at a moment when Jackson was rebuilding his image after the 1993 allegations. Lisa Marie always insisted it was real, later saying she believed "he was wrongly accused, and, yes, I started falling for him." Of their time together she wrote, "I've never been that happy again."
Their 1994 MTV VMAs kiss — Jackson telling the crowd "nobody thought this would last" before kissing his bride — became one of the most replayed awards-show moments ever. She filed for divorce in early 1996; it was finalized that August, about twenty months after the wedding. When Michael died in 2009 she said she was "so very sad and confused," and recalled that he had once told her he feared he would "end up like" her father — dying young — and that she had wanted to "save him."
Her own life
Music, marriages & candor
Lisa Marie released three studio albums — To Whom It May Concern (2003), Now What (2005), and Storm & Grace (2012) — and recorded a posthumous "duet" of Elvis's "In the Ghetto" (2007). She married four times: musician Danny Keough (1988–94), Michael Jackson (1994–96), actor Nicolas Cage (2002, just months), and producer Michael Lockwood (2006–21). She was openly candid about addiction — describing a dependency on opioids prescribed after the 2008 birth of her twins — and about grief.
Her children
The next generation
She had four children: Riley Keough (b. 1989), the actress who is now steward of Graceland; Benjamin Keough (1992–2020), whose death she grieved deeply; and twins Harper and Finley Lockwood (b. 2008). After Lisa Marie's death, Riley became sole trustee of her estate — and the controlling owner of Graceland.
January 2023
Her death & memoir
Two days after a final public appearance at the Golden Globes supporting the film Elvis, Lisa Marie died on January 12, 2023, at age 54. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner certified the cause as a small bowel obstruction from adhesions following an earlier bariatric surgery; the manner was ruled natural. She was laid to rest at Graceland, near her father and her son Benjamin. Her posthumous memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown (2024), was completed by Riley Keough from tapes her mother had recorded, and became an Oprah's Book Club pick.
Two dynastiesFor one heavily-scrutinized chapter, the heir to the King of Rock and Roll was married to the King of Pop. The Presley thread runs from Elvis to Lisa Marie to Riley Keough — and, briefly, intersected with Michael's story.