Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of singing legend Elvis Presley, is dead at the age of 54, her mother confirmed in a statement to the Associated Press.
Although her official cause of death was not released, Presley was rushed to the hospital after suffering full cardiac arrest on January 12, 2023, according to TMZ, which first broke the news of Presley’s hospitalization and death.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” Priscilla Presley said in the statement. “She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known.”
Heart issues also took the life of Presley’s father, Elvis Presley, at age 42. He died of a heart attack, History.com reported. On January 8, 2023, Priscilla Presley tweeted, “It’s Elvis’ 88th birthday today. It’s so hard to believe he is gone but he is always our hearts. Thank you all for keeping his memory alive ❤️”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Lisa Marie Presley’s Pulse Was Initially Restored Using a Drug Called Epinephrine & She Was Rushed to the Hospital, Reports Say
Craig Little, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, told the Associated Press that paramedics “were dispatched to a Calabasas home at 10:37 a.m. following a report of a woman in full cardiac arrest.”
It took them six minutes to arrive, and they performed CPR, determining that “the patient had signs of life” and rushed her to the hospital, AP reported.
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According to TMZ, her pulse was initially restored after she went into “full arrest,” and she was given epinephrine after being discovered unresponsive at her home.
Epinephrine is a drug that is used to “stimulate the heart,” along with other emergencies, WebMD reports.
Cardiac arrest is “when the heart stops beating suddenly,” according to John Hopkins Medicine.
According to RadarOnline, loved ones were concerned about Presley’s health for months before her death, as years of drugs and alcohol abuse had taken their toll on her body.
The site reported that she had been to rehab for addictions to painkillers and other substance abuse multiple times.
Her final husband, with whom she was embroiled for years in a bitter custody and financial battle for her two youngest kids, Michael Lockwood, released a statement after she was hospitalized. “Michael hopes and prays that she gets better as soon as possible so they can do the best for their children,” Lockwood’s attorney, Joseph Yanny, told Us Weekly.
“Michael will be fine as he always is. The most important thing always and now is Lisa Marie gets better and that the children don’t suffer as a result of this,” Yanny told US, referring to Harper and Finley, who are twins. “They are beautiful little girls and don’t need this in their life.”
2. Lisa Marie Presley’s Housekeeper Found Her Unresponsive & Her Ex-Husband Performed CPR, Reports Say
Earlier in the day on January 12, Priscilla Presley tweeted:
My beloved daughter Lisa Marie was rushed to the hospital. She is now receiving the best care. Please keep her and our family in your prayers. We feel the prayers from around the world, and ask for privacy during this time.
According to TMZ, Presley was discovered by a housekeeper unresponsive, and her ex-husband, Danny Keough, who was living with her following the death of their son in 2020, tried to perform CPR.
Paramedics were then called, and Presley, who had been suffering from stomach pains, was rushed to the hospital, according to TMZ, where she was given a pacemaker and placed on “life support.”
RadarOnline reported that Danny Keough, the father of her two eldest children who was her first husband, had been “watching over her closely, but it’s up to Lisa Marie to turn things around.”
3. Lisa Marie Presley Attended an Awards Event With Her Mother in Honor of the Lead Actor of the Movie ‘Elvis’ Just 2 Days Before Her Death
One of Presley’s last acts was to attend the Golden Globe awards in support of Austin Butler, who played her father in the movie “Elvis,” and who won a leading actor award for the portrayal, ET reported.
Her mother, Priscilla Presley, was at her side, according to ET.
Lisa Marie Presley told ET of Butler’s performance: “I really didn’t know what to do with myself after I saw it. I had to take, like, five days to process it because it was so incredible and so spot on and just so authentic that, yeah, I can’t even describe what it meant.”
Presley wrote on social media frequently about the movie and Butler’s performance. She wrote on Facebook:
I do want to take a moment to let you know that I have seen Baz Luhrmann’s movie ‘Elvis’ twice now, and let me tell you that it is nothing short of spectacular. Absolutely exquisite. Austin Butler channeled and embodied my father’s heart and soul beautifully. In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and FINALLY done accurately and respectfully. (If he doesn’t get an Oscar for this, I will eat my own foot, haha.)
You can feel and witness Baz’s pure love, care, and respect for my father throughout this beautiful film, and it is finally something that myself and my children and their children can be proud of forever. What moved me to tears as well was watching Riley and Harper, and Finley afterwards, all 3 visibly overwhelmed in the best way possible way, and so filled with pride about their grandfather and his legacy in a way that I have not previously experienced.
4. Lisa Marie Presley Wrote About Her Devastation Over Her Son’s Suicide, Saying That ‘Death Is Part of Life’
Lisa Marie Presley lost her only son, Benjamin Keough, to suicide more than two years before her own death, according to KTLA.
She wrote an essay about his death in People Magazine, in which she said that “death is part of life whether we like it or not — and so is grieving. There is so much to learn and understand on the subject, but here’s what I know so far: One is that grief does not stop or go away in any sense, a year, or years after the loss.”
She was married four times and leaves behind three daughters. Her ex-husband, pop star Michael Jackson, preceded her in death. She was also married to Danny Keough, actor Nicolas Cage and Michael Lockwood, all marriages that resulted in divorce.
Lisa Marie Presley wrote on Instagram, in October 2020, that her son’s death left her with a “suffocating” pain:
My beautiful beautiful angel, I worshipped the ground you walked on, on this earth and now in Heaven. My heart and soul went with you. The depth of the pain is suffocating and bottomless without you every moment of every day. I will never be the same. Please wait for me my love, and hold my hand while I stay to continue to protect and raise your little sisters and to be here for Riley. I know you would want that. Happy Birthday my sweet sweet Boy. You were much too good for this world.
5. Lisa Marie Presley Led a Birthday Celebration for Elvis at Graceland Just Days Before Her Death
According to her IMDb profile, Lisa Marie Presley was born on February 1, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Elvis and Priscilla Presley. She was a composer and actress, according to the biography.
According to the Commercial Appeal, Lisa Marie Presley led a birthday tribute at Graceland for her father on what would have been his 88th birthday on January 8, 2023.
At the event, Elvis Presley Enterprises managing partner Joel Weinshanker told the crowd that Graceland was “probably the most famous house in the world, and there is only one person whose house it is,” when he introduced Lisa Marie, according to the Commercial Appeal.
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