Grief for Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis
January 13, 2023
The death of Lisa Marie Presley at the age of 54 — the only child of Elvis Presley — has been met with an outpouring of grief on social media.
Tom Hank's wife, actress Rita Wilson, extended the couple's condolences to the Presley family on Instagram. Hanks and Wilson had met the family while promoting the recent "Elvis" biopic about Lisa Marie's father in which Hanks played the part of Elvis manager "Colonel" Tom Parker.
Singer Pink posted a photo of herself and Lisa Marie on Instagram, sharing a fond farewell to Elvis Presley’s daughter whom she called "funny as shit" and "smart as a whip."
Actor John Travolta, star of cult films Pulp Fiction and Grease, released a tweet addressed to Lisa Marie herself, saying that he would miss his "baby girl."
Fashion designer Donnatella Versace also published a statement, saying that she will never forget the time spent with Presley and praising her beauty and kindness.
Actor Leah Remini, known for her role in "King of Queens," wrote on Twitter that Lisa Maria Presley “did not have an easy life, as some might think.”
In 2020, Lisa Marie’s son Benjamin Keough, died by suicide aged 27. In an essay for People magazine that she shared on Instagram, she said she was "destroyed" by his death.
In the week before her death, she attended the Golden Globes Award Ceremony in Beverly Hills with her mother Priscilla. At the ceremony, actor Austin Butler won the Best Actor award for portraying her father in "Elvis" and paid a tearful tribute to Lisa Marie Presley and her mother during his acceptance speech.
Before her passing, Lisa Marie Presley was full of praise for Butler's performance. "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," she told ET.
Following in her father's footsteps
The only daughter of Elvis Presley took after her father, pursuing a career in music. She was a singer-songwriter in her own right and also contributed to several charitable causes.
"It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us," her mother, Priscilla Presley, said in a statement.
"She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known."
Presley rushed to hospital
American media outlets reported that Presley suffered heart failure.
A spokesperson for Los Angeles emergency services said paramedics were dispatched to Presley's Calabasas home on Thursday morning following a report of a woman in cardiac arrest.
Paramedics then performed CPR and "determined the patient had signs of life" before rushing her to the hospital.
A life in the spotlight
Presley's birth in 1968 was international news, and she was known to share her father's brooding charisma and sultry voice. Elvis passed away in 1977, when she was just 9 years old.
The singer went on to release her own rock albums in the 2000s and appeared on stage alongside greats including Pat Benatar and Richard Hawley.
Presley's private life also generated attention — her four husbands included Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage.
Presley leaves behind a son and twin daughters.
cl/bh/zc/fb (AP, Reuters, AFP)