Lisa
Marie
Presley,
a
singer,
Elvis'
only
daughter
and
a
dedicated
keeper
of
her
father's
legacy,
died
Thursday
after
being
hospitalized
for
a
medical
emergency.
She
was
54.
Presley's
death
was
confirmed
by
her
mother,
Priscilla.
"It
is
with
a
heavy
heart
that
I
must
share
the
devastating
news
that
my
beautiful
daughter
Lisa
Marie
has
left
us," Priscilla
Presley
said
in
a
statement.
"She
was
the
most
passionate,
strong
and
loving
woman
I
have
ever
known."
Presley,
the
only
child
of
Elvis
and
Priscilla
Presley,
shared
her
father's
brooding
charisma
-
the
hooded
eyes,
the
insolent
smile,
the
low,
sultry
voice
-
and
followed
him
professionally,
releasing
her
own
rock
albums
in
the
2000s,
and
appearing
on
stage
with
Pat
Benatar
and
Richard
Hawley
among
others.
She
even
formed
direct
musical
ties
with
her
father,
joining
her
voice
to
such
Elvis
recordings
as
"In
the
Ghetto" and
"Don't
Cry
Daddy,"
a
mournful
ballad
which
had
reminded
him
of
the
early
death
of
his
mother
(and
Lisa
Marie's
grandmother),
Gladys
Presley.
"It's
been
all
my
life,"
she
told
The
Associated
Press
in
2012,
speaking
of
her
father's
influence.
'It's
not
something
that
I
now
listen
to
and
it's
different.
Although
I
might
listen
closer.
I
remain
consistent
on
the
fact
that
I've
always
been
an
admirer.
He's
always
influenced
me.'
Her
birth,
nine
months
exactly
after
her
parents'
wedding,
was
international
news
and
her
background
was
rarely
far
from
her
mind.
With
the
release
last
year
of
Baz
Luhrmann's
major
musical
feature
"Elvis,"
Lisa
Marie
and
Priscilla
Presley
had
been
attending
red
carpets
and
award
shows
alongside
stars
from
the
film.
She
was
at
the
Golden
Globes
on
Tuesday,
on
hand
to
celebrate
Austin
Butler's
award
for
playing
her
father.
Just
days
before,
she
was
in
Memphis
at
Graceland
-
the
mansion
where
Elvis
lived,
and
died
-
on
January
8
to
celebrate
her
father's
birth
anniversary.
Presley
lived
with
her
mother,
an
actor
known
for
"Dallas" and
the
"Naked
Gun"
movies,
in
California
after
her
parents
split
up
in
1973.
She
recalled
early
memories
of
her
dad
during
her
visits
to
Graceland,
riding
golf
carts
through
the
neighbourhood
and
seeing
his
daily
entrances
down
the
stairs.
"He
was
always
fully,
fully
geared
up.
You'd
never
see
him
in
his
pajamas
coming
down
the
steps,
ever," she
told
The
Associated
Press
in
2012.
"You'd
never
see
him
in
anything
but
'ready
to
be
seen'
attire."
Elvis
Presley
died
in
August
1977,
when
he
was
just
42,
and
she
9
years
old.
Lisa
Marie
was
staying
at
Graceland
at
the
time
and
would
recall
him
kissing
her
goodnight
hours
before
he
would
collapse
and
never
recover.
When
she
next
saw
him,
the
following
day,
he
was
lying
face
down
in
the
bathroom.
"I
just
had
a
feeling," she
told
Rolling
Stone
in
2003.
"He
wasn't
doing
well.
All
I
know
is
I
had
it
(a
feeling),
and
it
happened.
I
was
obsessed
with
death
at
a
very
early
age."
She
would
later
make
headlines
of
her
own.
Struggles
with
drugs
and
some
very
public
marriages.
Her
four
husbands
included
Michael
Jackson
and
Nicolas
Cage.
Jackson
and
Presley
were
married
in
the
Dominican
Republic
in
1994,
but
the
marriage
ended
two
years
later
and
was
defined
by
numerous
awkward
public
appearances,
including
an
unexpected
kiss
from
Jackson
during
the
MTV
Video
Music
Awards
and
a
joint
interview
with
Diane
Sawyer
when
she
defended
her
husband
against
allegations
he
had
sexually
abused
a
minor.
Her
other
celebrity
marriage
was
even
shorter:
Cage
filed
for
divorce
after
four
months
of
marriage
in
2002.