Priscilla Presley

Priscilla Presley is an American businesswoman, actress, and former wife of American singer Elvis Presley whose six-decade public visibility has made her one of the figures of the Elvis Presley legacy and one of the American businesswomen of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. She was born Priscilla Ann Wagner on May 24, 1945, in Brooklyn, New York City. She was raised primarily on US military bases as her stepfather Paul Beaulieu was a US Air Force officer.

Her life-changing meeting with Elvis Presley came on September 13, 1959, in Bad Nauheim, West Germany — where Elvis was stationed with the US Army (1958–1960) and where Priscilla's stepfather was simultaneously stationed with the Air Force. Priscilla was 14 and Elvis was 24. The continuous courtship — much of which has been continuously discussed in biographical reassessments of the Elvis-Priscilla relationship — culminated in her 1963 relocation from Germany to Memphis to live at Graceland with Elvis, and her May 1, 1967 marriage to him in Las Vegas.

The Elvis-Priscilla marriage produced their daughter Lisa Marie Presley (1968–2023). The 1973 divorce — initiated by Priscilla — reshaped her public role. Following Elvis's August 16, 1977 death at age 42, Priscilla became the chief executive of Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) — the Memphis-based company that manages the Elvis Presley estate. Her 1982 opening of Graceland to public tours — over substantial initial resistance from the Elvis family — has continuously made Graceland one of the most-visited American historical homes (over 600,000 annual visitors).

Her parallel acting career has included the recurring role of Jenna Wade on CBS's Dallas (1983–1988) and the 1988 cult comedy The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (opposite Leslie Nielsen) and its 1991 and 1994 sequels. She authored the 1985 bestselling memoir Elvis and Me. She has continued to be a recurring American Elvis-related cultural figure into her late seventies, including her public engagement with the 2022 Baz Luhrmann Elvis film.

Her name Priscilla is from the Latin Prisca, the feminine form of Priscus, meaning "ancient" or "venerable." Priscilla has been continuously among the most-popular American girls' names for decades.