Lisa Marie Presley had a sound like her dad and had his pout when she sang.
I’m surprised that her music didn’t become more mainstream because she had a good voice. Instead, her life often revolved around other, tragic, events.
Unfortunately, this lovely and talented lady was taken away too soon – Lisa was only 54 years old when the news of her death was announced last year.
Lisa Marie Presley died on January 12, 2023, from a cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas. Her heart was restarted on the way to the hospital in West Hills Hospital in Los Angeles where she spent her final moments.
She passed away at the age of 54 years old in Los Angeles surrounded by her family and loved ones. Her official cause of death was a “sequelae of small bowel obstruction,” a blockage of the small intestine, the result of a weight loss surgery she underwent in 2020.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiners’ report added that her death was “natural” and there was “no evidence of injury or foul play.” It also ruled out a possible opioid overdose, as had been speculated.
The news came as a shock to many of Presley’s friends, who had no idea she underwent the weight loss surgery and wondered why she even received one.
After her tragic death, social media overflowed with tributes. Being the daughter of Elvis Presley, a cultural icon, was probably not the easiest. Lisa Marie Presley had an often troubled personal life, which often played out in the tabloids.
She suffered a devastating personal loss in July 2020 when her son Benjamin Keough died by suicide. She was the sole heir to Elvis‘ estate, which she inherited in 1993, including Graceland. She owned 15 percent of Elvis Presley Enterprises. Though Lisa Marie was only a child when her superstar father died, they enjoyed a close relationship.
Funeral secret
Since Lisa Marie Presley was such a public figure, most details about her life are well-known. However, a completely unknown story would unfold during her funeral.
At the emotional memorial service, it was revealed that Elvis Presley’s only child had been a grandmother to a previously unknown granddaughter. The shocking news was made public by a funeral speech delivered by Ben Smith-Petersen, the husband of Presley’s daughter, Riley Keough.
Ben Smith-Petersen read a statement written by his wife at the service.
”A letter to my mama – thank you for being my mother in this life. I am eternally grateful to have spent 33 years with you. I’m certain I chose the best mother for me in this world and I knew that as far back as I remember you and I remember everything.”
“I remember you giving me baths as a baby and I remember you driving me in my car seat listening to Aretha Franklin. I remember the way you would cuddle me at night, and the way you smelled. I remember you taking me for ice cream after school in Florida. I remember you singing me and my brother lullabies at night. I remember how you would lay with us until we fell asleep.”
He read, “I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, the way you loved my brother and my sisters. Thank you for giving me strength, my heart, my empathy, my courage, my sense of humor, my manners, my temper, my wildness, my tenacity,” Ben read on behalf of his wife. “I’m a product of your heart, my sisters are a product of your heart, my brother is a product of your heart.”
Ben and Riley had never publicly disclosed the arrival of their baby, and evidently, Riley excelled in maintaining the privacy of her pregnancy.
Not long ago, Riley Keough opened up about her ‘unknown’ daughter for the first time. The baby girl was born in August 2022 via surrogate.
Her name? Tupelo Storm Smith-Petersen.
Riley chose Tupelo for Tupelo, Mississippi where her grandfather, Elvis Presley was born, and Storm in memory of her late brother Benjamin, whose middle name was Storm.
“It’s funny because we picked her name before the Elvis movie,” she told Vanity Fair. “I was like, ‘This is great because it’s not really a well-known word or name in relation to my family — it’s not like Memphis or something. Then when the Elvis movie came out [in 2022], it was like, Tupelo this and Tupelo that. I was like, ‘Oh, no.’ But it’s fine.”
“I think it’s a very cool, selfless, and incredible act that these women do to help other people,” Keough said. “I can carry children, but it felt like the best choice for what I had going on physically with the autoimmune stuff.”
Tupelo is the first grandchild for Lisa Marie and the first great-grandchild for Elvis and Priscilla. Riley Keough is now the sole heir of Lisa Marie’s estate, the new owner of Graceland, and the sub-trusts for her twin 14-year-old sisters.
As we reflect on the life of Lisa Marie Presley, let us remember the depth of her journey, from the public spotlight to the private corners of her heart.
May her legacy shine on, encompassing both the known and the untold, forever etched in the hearts of those who admired her!
