See Priscilla Presley's Life in Photos: From Marrying Elvis to Opening Graceland

Celebrating 'Dallas' star Priscilla Presley's radiant life through her most captivating photos

Priscilla Presley has always been more than Elvis Presley's ex-wife. In fact, the beloved actress and businesswoman made it her ethos.

"I had to build a career for myself. I didn't want to just be the widow of Elvis Presley or the mother of [Lisa Marie Presley]," she wrote in her 1985 memoir, Elvis and Me. "I needed to be Priscilla Presley, someone who could stand on her own."

That independent spirit was at the heart of 2023's Priscilla, the Sofia Coppola-directed biopic that explored Priscilla's life before, during and after the King of Rock 'n' Roll came into her world. Though she's been through many hardships in life — including the death of her late husband and losing her only daughter, Lisa Marie — she's had some incredible highs, too.

Here's a look at Priscilla's luminous life and legacy in her most memorable photos.

Priscilla Presley Is Born

Priscilla Ann Wagner — who later took her stepfather's surname Beaulieu — was born in New York City on May 24, 1945, the eldest of six children in a military family.

In a 1978 interview with PEOPLE, reflecting on the transient nature of her childhood, she said, "I always knew that something extraordinary was going to happen to me."

Priscilla Meets Elvis Presley

Something extraordinary did, in fact, happen when, at 14 years old, Priscilla met Elvis. At the time, she lived with her family in Bad Nauheim, Germany, near where Elvis was stationed with the Army.

In Elvis and Me (excerpted in PEOPLE), Priscilla wrote of the pair's early days.

"I found myself deeply involved with Elvis. Something in his Southern upbringing had taught him that the 'right' girl was to be saved for marriage. I was that girl," she shared. "At the same time, he molded me into his woman. I wore the clothes, hairstyle and makeup of his careful choosing."

Priscilla continued, "My parents became confused and bewildered by our relationship. We tried to make them believe that it was proper and platonic, and they wanted to believe me. Whenever they tried to stop us from seeing each other, I pleaded and cried and made them and myself miserable. In retrospect, I don't think anything could have stopped me from seeing Elvis."

Elvis and Priscilla Presley Wed

The couple quietly exchanged vows in Las Vegas on May 1, 1967, in a wedding arranged by the singer's manager, Col. Tom Parker, and was meant to throw off the press.

"Elvis and I followed the Colonel's plan," Priscilla wrote in Elvis and Me. "Our vows were taken, and we were now husband and wife. I remember flashbulbs popping, my father's congratulations and my mother's tears of happiness. Mrs. Elvis Presley."

She continued, "[Elvis] was determined that our wedding day be special. He carried me across the threshold of our house, singing the 'Hawaiian Wedding Song.' He stopped and gave me a long, loving kiss, then proceeded to carry me upstairs to our bedroom."

The bride and groom held a private, eight-minute ceremony at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, where they treated themselves to a six-tier wedding cake that reportedly cost $3,200. To keep their union a secret, Priscilla told Vogue in 2023 that she was in disguise when she found the beaded chiffon gown, which she purchased off the rack at a department store and only had one fitting.

"It wasn't extravagant, it wasn't extreme — it was simple and, to me, beautiful," Priscilla said. "I didn't have time to stay there forever and look at dresses. I had one fitting for this dress, and that was it. I was out of there."

Elvis and Priscilla Presley Welcome Daughter Lisa Marie

On Feb. 1, 1968, nine months after tying the knot, the lovebirds welcomed their first and only child together, daughter Lisa Marie.

"The nurse brought her into my room, and I cradled her in my arms. She was so tiny, so beautiful," Priscilla wrote in her memoir. "Elvis came into the room and kissed me, thrilled that we had had a perfectly normal, healthy baby. Then he took us both in his arms and held us."

Elvis and Priscilla Presley Have Problems in Their Marriage

Though Lisa Marie was a great joy in the couple's life, Priscilla wrote in Elvis and Me that "as the months passed, I realized that now that I was a mother, Elvis was uncertain how to treat me."

What followed was a brief affair with her dance instructor, which Priscilla wrote opened her eyes to what she needed in her marriage to Elvis. However, his touring and filming schedules also weighed on their marriage, as she often stayed at their Graceland home in Memphis, Tenn., while her husband hit the road.

"With Elvis, my life was his life," she told PEOPLE in 1978. "He had to be happy. We never disturbed him. My problems were secondary."

Elvis and Priscilla Presley Divorce

After months of back-and-forth within the marriage, the pair officially divorced on Oct. 9, 1973, though they walked out of the Santa Monica, Calif., courthouse together.

"The dream I had had of a perfect union was over," Priscilla wrote in Elvis and Me. "The hope of an ideal marriage, which had consumed all my thoughts and energy since I was 14, had ended with the simple stroke of a pen."

Priscilla Presley Opens Graceland

Following their divorce, four years later, Elvis died on Aug. 16, 1977.

According to the Graceland website, "While the estate he left was by no means broke, there was a cash flow problem, especially with Graceland costing over half a million dollars a year in maintenance and taxes."

To help recoup costs, Priscilla opened Graceland to the public in June 1982 through the Elvis Presley Trust and its business entity, Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc.

It remains a popular tourist destination to this day.

Priscilla Presley and Robert Kardashian Sr.

Priscilla's love life was under much scrutiny in the years following her divorce from Elvis and the singer's death; in the '70s, she was even linked to attorney and businessman Robert Kardashian Sr. (left), the father of the famous Kardashian daughters.

Priscilla Presley in Love Is Forever

Priscilla had long expressed interest in acting, and her first credit following her divorce came in 1983's Love Is Forever, starring opposite Michael Landon.

Priscilla Presley on Dallas

However, she really found success on the popular '80s series Dallas, depicting Jenna Wade Krebbs from 1983 to 1988.

Priscilla Presley Welcomes Son Navarone

At that time, Priscilla began dating writer and MTV producer Marco Garibaldi; together, they had son, Navarone Garcia (pictured), on March 1, 1987. (He is a musician, and in February 2022, he and Elisa Achilli wed in Switzerland.)

Priscilla Presley in The Naked Gun Franchise

Her biggest silver screen credit was with Leslie Nielsen in the Naked Gun films of the late '80s and early '90s, in which she played Jane Spencer.

Priscilla Presley on Melrose Place

Priscilla also found a new audience in the '90s as Nurse Benson on a handful of episodes of Melrose Place (pictured here with daytime soap star Jack Wagner).

Priscilla Presley on Dancing with the Stars

After taking a break from the small screen, Priscilla returned to television in 2008 on season 6 of Dancing with the Stars, placing eighth with her partner, Louis van Amstel.

Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley

Though she and her daughter had their share of ups and downs, they frequently came together, like at the 2015 ribbon cutting of "Graceland Presents ELVIS: The Exhibition - The Show - The Experience" in Las Vegas.

Lisa Marie died on Jan. 12, 2023, at the age of 54.

Priscilla also has four grandchildren — actress Riley Keough; Benjamin Keough, who died by suicide at 27 in 2020; and twin girls Finley and Harper Lockwood. She's also great-grandmother to Riley's daughter, Tupelo, born via surrogate in 2022.

Additionally, Priscilla has been involved in a few projects about Elvis, including the 2018 documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher and a 1988 miniseries based on her book, Elvis and Me.

"... Telling his story wasn't something I wanted to do but had to do because of all that's been said and written about him," she told PEOPLE in 1988. "I have to fight for his reputation, his ideas, his image. That's my main concern in this film. I have to protect Elvis — he was very misunderstood.''

Priscilla Presley at the 2022 Met Gala

In 2022, Priscilla attended the Met Gala with movie star Austin Butler, who portrayed her late ex-husband in the eight-time Academy Award-nominated film Elvis. Leading up to the event, she had praised the Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic on social media after an early screening.

"This story is about Elvis and Colonel Parker's relationship. It is a true story told brilliantly and creatively that only Baz, in his unique artistic way, could have delivered. Austin Butler, who played Elvis is outstanding," Priscilla wrote on Facebook.

"The story, as we all know, does not have a happy ending. But I think you will understand a little bit more of Elvis' journey, penned by a [director] who put his heart and soul and many hours into this film," she concluded.

Riley Keough and Priscilla Presley reunite at the 2023 Emmy Awards

Wearing matching Chanel, Priscilla joined hands with her granddaughter, Keough, at the 2023 Emmy Awards, where the Daisy Jones & the Six actress was contending that evening for outstanding actress in a limited series or a movie for her role on the Amazon Prime Video series. It was a special occasion for the fashionable pair in more ways than one, as the two had been entangled in a lawsuit over the late Lisa Marie's trust, though a few months later, they would reach a settlement in May.

"My family has resolved all confusion as it relates to our plea to the court and requests for document interpretation after my daughter Lisa Marie's untimely passing," Priscilla said in a statement following the settlement. "Although some media identified such a plea as a lawsuit, I want to make clear that there was never any lawsuit filed against my beloved granddaughter."

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