Lisa Marie Presley lived under constant media scrutiny, but she still had secrets. It wasn't until after her unexpected death that we learned just how little we really knew about the only daughter of the King of Rock 'n Roll.
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00:00Lisa Marie Presley lived under constant media scrutiny, but she still had secrets. It wasn't
00:04until after her unexpected death that we learned just how little we really knew about the only
00:09daughter of the king of rock and roll. When Lisa Marie Presley's ex-husband, Danny Keough,
00:14found her collapsed in her bedroom on January 12, 2023, it was initially thought that she'd
00:18had a cardiac arrest. However, the autopsy reports, released in July 2023, revealed that,
00:23while a cardiac event contributed to her death, Presley died of a small bowel obstruction.
00:28It's a condition where a blockage in the small intestine prevents what a person eats and drinks
00:32from passing through their system. It can damage gastrointestinal tissues or even perforate the
00:36bowel, causing a life-threatening infection. In Presley's case, the obstruction was caused
00:40by scar tissue resulting from bariatric surgery she'd had years before. The obstruction led to
00:45a cardiac arrest that deprived her brain of oxygen, but she was still alive when Keough found
00:50her. Once at the hospital, however, she had another fatal cardiac arrest. In addition,
00:54the autopsy revealed that her kidneys hadn't been functioning properly,
00:57allowing acid to build up in her bloodstream.
01:00Lisa Marie's premature death inevitably drew comparisons to the death of her father at 42.
01:06Were you very close to your father?
01:07Yes.
01:09It was a daddy-daughter kind of thing?
01:10Yeah, very much.
01:12The final 12 months of Elvis' life were marked by rampant drug misuse and
01:15self-destructive behavior before his death. Of course, cardiac issues are known to be hereditary,
01:21and Lisa Marie's grandmother, Gladys Presley, also died of cardiac arrest at 46.
01:25What's more, Lisa Marie and Elvis had both been dealing with colon-related medical issues before
01:30their deaths. Medical professionals have long suspected that Elvis' heart attack may have
01:34been caused by overt physical straining due to the rock star's chronic, most likely drug-induced
01:39constipation. Both Lisa Marie and Elvis suffered from drug addiction, and both had drugs in their
01:44system when they died, although not in lethal doses.
01:47The struggle in addiction for me started at, you know, 45 years old. It wasn't like it was
01:53happening all my life.
01:54Lisa Marie was found to have used oxycodone, among other prescription drugs,
01:58while Elvis' bloodstream contained a wide array of prescription opiates.
02:03After Lisa Marie's death, her mother, Priscilla Presley, revealed that her daughter had been in
02:07a dark place ever since the 2020 death by suicide of her son, Benjamin Keough. In an interview with
02:13Piers Morgan Uncensored, Priscilla shared a haunting memory of a conversation she'd had
02:17with Lisa Marie in Memphis, recalling,
02:20She said,
02:20"'Mom, you know, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if I want to be here.'"
02:26Lisa Marie was open about the profound impact of Ben's death. In 2022, during the last few
02:30months of her life, she wrote an essay for People in which she said,
02:33"'Grief' is something you will have to carry with you for the rest of your life,
02:36in spite of what certain people or our culture wants us to believe.
02:40You do not get over it. You do not move on. Period.'"
02:44"'He was the love of her life, that child. She adored him.'"
02:50However, few were aware of the true depths of Lisa Marie's grief, which didn't become public
02:54until the posthumous publication of her memoir. After Ben's death, she struggled to decide where
02:59to bury him — in Hawaii or at Graceland. During that time, she'd kept her son's body in a spare
03:04bedroom at her California home, on dry ice. This is apparently not against California law,
03:09although it's thankfully not common practice. Lisa Marie writes,
03:13"'I got so used to him, caring for him and keeping him there. I think it would scare
03:16the living d**k piss out of anybody else to have their son there like that. But not me.'"
03:21On October 1, 2020, Ben was buried in Graceland's Meditation Garden alongside
03:25his grandfather and great-grandmother. Three years later, Lisa Marie would be laid to rest
03:29beside her son. Lisa Marie's autopsy report revealed tragic details about her final months.
03:35The weight loss surgery that eventually led to her death had taken place years before,
03:39but she was living with painful side effects until the end,
03:42including suffering from abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and fever-like sensations.
03:47While she also had cosmetic surgery during her final months and was treated for a subsequent
03:51infection, it appears she didn't seek medical help for her digestive issues. In fact,
03:55Presley didn't even tell some of her closest friends that she'd had bariatric surgery.
03:59It's unclear whether this was a factor in her decision not to seek help for her abdominal
04:03symptoms. Looking back, Priscilla recalled a joyful moment the two shared just after the
04:07Golden Globes, laughing and giggling together after tripping on their high heels while heading
04:11into the Chateau Marmont for a post-show drink.
04:14And then we went there and sat down, and she said,
04:17"'Mom, I have to go. My stomach really hurts.'"
04:21Forty-eight hours later, Lisa Marie was gone.
04:24Plenty of famous rock stars end up surprisingly poor, but you wouldn't expect the only child
04:29of Elvis Presley to be among them. However, at the time of her death,
04:32Lisa Marie may have been as much as $4 million in debt.
04:36"'I'm not perfect. My father wasn't perfect. No one's perfect.
04:40You know, and it's what you do with it after you learn, and then you try and help others.'"
04:44The details of her financial situation began to surface in November 2022 during her custody
04:49case with ex-husband Michael Lockwood, but became more widely known after she died.
04:53Apart from the $4 million debt, Presley also owed $1 million to the IRS.
04:58She did, however, have $25 million and $10 million life insurance policies that she left
05:02to her three surviving children and her half-brother. But how did she accumulate so much debt?
05:07When Elvis died, 9-year-old Lisa Marie inherited his sizable fortune,
05:11and on her 25th birthday in 1993, she gained access to the entire estate.
05:16Just 11 years later, in 2004, she sold off 85 percent of her ownership,
05:20netting around $100 million, but she held onto Graceland, her family home.
05:24However, come 2018, she sued her business manager, claiming his mismanagement had put
05:29her $16 million in debt, while he countersued, accusing her of overspending. Whatever the truth
05:34really was, it's clear that Lisa Marie had money struggles during her lifetime. When she died,
05:39however, the gift of her life insurance policy provided financial security for those she left
05:43behind. Baz Luhrmann's 2022 biopic Elvis generated plenty of fresh interest in the Presley family,
05:49who showed up and showed out in enthusiastic support of the film.
05:52But red carpet appearances can be stressful, and Lisa Marie embarked on a rapid weight loss
05:57regimen to be camera-ready for the 2023 Golden Globes, losing as much as 50 pounds in just six
06:02weeks. While she kept her gastric bypass surgery a secret, Presley had previously admitted to
06:07experimenting with bad diets. By 2014, however, she told People that simple, clean living was
06:12the best fit for her, explaining,
06:14"'Knowing my family history, my father's side is totally not healthy,
06:17and they have shorter lifespans, while my mom's side is super fit with long lifespans.
06:22I didn't know where I would land. So I said,
06:24OK, I'm going to play it safe and try to be as healthy as I can be."
06:27Whether or not she continued to eat clean, Lisa Marie's misgivings about her weight would
06:31lead her to undergo the bariatric surgery that triggered her fatal bowel obstruction.
06:36Two days before her death on January 12, 2023,
06:39Lisa Marie hit the Golden Globes red carpet alongside Elvis star Austin Butler and the
06:43rest of the Presley family. Speaking to the media, she expressed her appreciation for the film and
06:48Butler's award-winning performance, and gratitude to Lerman for his take on her beloved father's
06:52story. Extra host Billy Bush was on the scene, and while interviewing Presley, he realized
06:56something was wrong. She was speaking very slowly and hanging on to a friend for balance.
07:01"'When the interview was over, I, you know, I turned to my producer next to me and said,
07:06something's, uh, something's off here.'"
07:09Bush couldn't know that he was interviewing a dying woman. And when the news broke just
07:13two days later, he reflected on her ability to handle the stress of the moment in spite
07:17of her frail appearance.
07:19"'No, she was cognizant. She was certainly with it. She was definitely there, but just a tad
07:25off in some way.'"
07:27Unbeknownst to many, Lisa Marie was working on at least two books at the time of her death.
07:31One was a collaborative memoir with her daughter Riley Keough, who joined the project in 2022 when
07:36her mother asked her to help move things along. Keough went on to complete the project, titled
07:40From Here to the Great Unknown, A Memoir, using audio tapes left behind by her mother.
07:45"'When I first heard the tapes, it was incredibly emotional because it was the
07:48first time I'd heard her voice since she'd passed away.'"
07:51Lisa Marie was also planning another very personal book project. Together with author
07:56and grief expert David Kessler, she was set to write a book on grief, a subject both of them
08:00knew well. After Lisa Marie's death, Kessler honored his late friend on Instagram, posting,
08:05"'I met Lisa Marie after her son Ben died. She wanted to talk to me,
08:09not because I was a grief expert, but because I was someone who also had a child die.
08:13It became an improbable friendship, but that is how grief works.'"
08:16The book was in the early stages when Lisa Marie died, and its future remains uncertain.
08:21For the moment, Presley's 2022 essay on grief for people, which includes a link to Kessler's
08:26website, may be the closest thing to a collaboration between the pair we're going to get.
08:30If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, is struggling or in crisis,
08:34or needs help with addiction issues, contact the relevant resources.
08:38The Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. Call the National Alliance on Mental Illness
08:44Helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI, 6264. Or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
08:52Call or text 988 or chat 988Lifeline.org. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
08:59Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP, 4357.
09:08SAMHSA.gov