0:02

It is Friday, January thirteenth, and

0:04

this is people every day. Hey,

0:09

you guys. It's me. Janine Reubenstein here

0:11

with you. And yes, we of course are going

0:13

to be talking about the sudden passing

0:16

of Lisa Marie Pressley, who

0:18

died yesterday after being hospitalized

0:20

for suspected cardiac arrest. We

0:23

just saw her out of the globe the other

0:25

night, so it all just feels even

0:27

more shocking. So today, we'll take

0:29

a deep dive into her life and legacy.

0:32

But first, let's get to the other stories making

0:34

headlines out there. With

0:38

the NFL playoffs kicking off this

0:40

weekend, Go niners, make us

0:42

proud, party, and Bibo, but I digress.

0:45

The Super Bowl is still several weeks

0:47

away. And while we don't know which teams

0:49

will be scoring off. There is one big

0:52

name. Fans can't wait to take the field

0:54

and see their name shining in light.

1:04

Earlier today, Rihanna, released a

1:07

short thirty second spot teasing her

1:09

upcoming Super Bowl halftime show performance.

1:11

The clip itself is mostly a mashup

1:13

of different sound bites of media members

1:16

asking where Rihanna's been while

1:18

the Fenty Mogul raises a finger to

1:20

her lips, seemingly to silence,

1:22

the noise. It's been almost seven

1:24

years since Reaver dropped an album, but

1:27

it was great to hear her song lift me

1:29

up, so beautifully woven into a condo

1:31

forever. The new mom still hasn't

1:33

tipped her hand at which of

1:35

her iconic songs she'll be sharing

1:37

with us, but I just really

1:39

can't wait. To see her on stage in

1:41

front of the world next month. Next

1:45

up, we'd like to wish a congratulations

1:47

to friend of the show, Nick Vyle.

1:49

Yes, today, the bachelor's alum and his longtime

1:52

girlfriend, Natalie Joy, announced their

1:54

engagement via a joint Instagram

1:56

post. The File File host

1:58

shared a series of photos of the two of them

2:00

together with the caption that read. For

2:02

the rest of my life, it's you. The

2:05

comments were filled with wishes, including Yay,

2:08

congratulations from the real housewives

2:10

of Beverly Hills Alarm Teddy Mellon camp Ariave

2:13

and Vanderbilt's cast

2:15

member Ariana Maddox said Congratulations.

2:18

Cheers to you both. Joy and

2:20

Vielle were first rumored to be together

2:22

back in twenty twenty, but they didn't share

2:24

their relationship publicly until twenty twenty

2:26

one. Vile previously joked on his

2:28

podcast that Joy, quote, slid

2:30

into my DMs. It was very romantic.

2:33

We are wishing them nothing, but congratulate

2:36

and nothing but the best. And

2:38

now we are turning our attention to

2:40

the sad news, the sudden death of singer

2:42

songwriter Lisa Marie Pressley.

2:51

The world is still in shock over

2:53

the sudden death of Lisa Marie Press Her

2:55

mother, Priscilla Pressley, confirmed the news

2:58

to people in a statement saying in part

3:00

she was the most passionate, strong, and loving

3:02

woman I have ever known. We asked

3:04

for privacy as we tried to deal with

3:06

this profound loss. Thank you for

3:08

the love and prayers. Earlier

3:10

this week, we saw Elvis' eldest daughter

3:13

out and about at the Golden Globes

3:15

cheering on Austin Butler as he

3:17

won an award for playing her father

3:19

who died in nineteen seventy seven in

3:21

the movie Elvis. Not only will

3:23

Lisa be on our cover next week,

3:25

we're going to be dedicating this episode to

3:27

her. As we look back at her life, career,

3:30

struggles, and triumphs. There's

3:32

a lot to get into

3:33

here. So joining me now to begin on coverage

3:35

is People's Senior Editor, MEL D'Choo.

3:38

Hey, Mel. Hey, Janine.

3:40

Well, I wanna start by talking about Lisa's

3:42

appearance at the Golden Globes on

3:44

Tuesday. It was just the other

3:46

day, and His acceptance speech,

3:49

Austin gave Lisa and Priscilla

3:51

a really sweet shout

3:52

out. Thank you for opening your hearts.

3:55

Your your memories, your

3:57

home to me, Lisa Marie

3:59

Priscilla, I love you forever. And

4:01

then people caught up with her after Austin's

4:04

big win and she was in really good spirit to tell

4:06

us what she shared with us.

4:08

She was in really good spirit. This

4:10

whole press run for the

4:12

movie. She's been so proud of

4:15

how everything turned out and

4:18

really gave her blessing. It can be

4:20

so controversial sometimes to

4:22

see her loved one on screen, but

4:24

she said it was like watching her father and

4:27

like you said, when we caught up with her after

4:29

Austin's big win and

4:31

said, I'm so happy. She's

4:33

really through her support behind this film.

4:36

Wow. You can tell how

4:38

proud she was and and how prevalent

4:40

that was throughout the night. I mean,

4:42

all the pictures that we're seeing them in the interviews that

4:44

she gave on the carpet. You know,

4:46

prior to his win even, she crashed

4:49

Austin's interview with Entertainment Tonight

4:51

on the carpet and said this about watching

4:53

him play her dad.

4:54

It was mind blowing. Mhmm. Truly

4:57

mind blowing. I really didn't

4:59

know what it what to do with myself after

5:02

after I saw it. Yeah. I I

5:04

had to take, like, five days to

5:06

process it. Mhmm. Because

5:08

it was so incredible and soap

5:11

spot on. Yeah.

5:13

I I think she said that, you know, Austin

5:15

really did this film justice, the writers,

5:17

boss, everyone put in so much

5:20

heart an effort into making

5:22

it as often take as possible. And

5:24

it was also just last week, I believe that she

5:26

went to Graceland to celebrate Elvis'

5:28

birthday and she cut into a

5:30

cake there, and it was only so important

5:32

for her to go back to

5:34

Graceland despite being LA based. She

5:36

knew how much her presence

5:39

and her involvement meant to her

5:41

her father's fans as well.

5:42

Yeah. Alright, Mel. So tell us what

5:45

happened? What do we know? And there was

5:47

all of this light and

5:49

levity, and then this news.

5:52

You know, there's a lot of rumors going

5:54

around about her health or

5:56

her ups and downs. But at this point, what we

5:58

do know is that she was

6:00

at home in Calabasas she

6:02

was administered CPR there and

6:05

then rushed to the hospital and it

6:07

obviously took a turn at

6:09

some point It's just so sad

6:11

and I am sure more will come out in

6:13

terms of what exactly led up to

6:15

this cardiac arrest. And it's

6:18

just a culmination at this point of

6:20

all the challenges she's been through,

6:23

not just in the last few years of her life

6:25

when she lost her son Benjamin who

6:28

was so young twenty seven and died from suicide

6:31

three years ago. And then this,

6:33

you know, very contentious divorce she

6:35

was going through and cuss city battle,

6:37

and and she just suffered through a lot

6:39

of loss. But I think what

6:42

Priscilla, her mother, and and her

6:44

loved ones are really trying

6:46

to remember is what a

6:48

fighter Lisa Marie was throughout her

6:50

life despite everything thrown at her

6:52

fame and tragedy in the spotlight.

6:55

She was resilient and persevered,

6:58

and she really tried to do

7:00

good. In this world as well. Yeah.

7:03

And and she was so many things. Like you said, she was

7:05

a singer, she was a songwriter, she was a mom,

7:07

she was a wife, and she was a

7:08

daughter, of course. What will always come to

7:10

mind for you when you think of Lisa Marie Pressley?

7:13

I think it's just how much she embraced

7:16

where she came from. I mean, we've seen lately

7:18

how that can be so touchy for

7:20

a lot of children of of huge

7:22

superstars. And she fully fully

7:24

embraced who her father was, who her parents

7:27

were, and she gave that

7:29

love back to fans. And I think she

7:31

provided this beloved link

7:33

back to Elvis. That people

7:35

were so desperate for after losing him so

7:38

young and these looked so alike, and

7:40

she also carved out her own path. I mean,

7:42

her music was really great. And

7:44

that's not always the case when you see someone following

7:46

in their, you know, famous parents footsteps. But

7:48

-- Yeah. -- she was so passionate about it

7:51

and I think that's a bond that she and Alice

7:53

truly truly

7:53

shared. For sure. And I I do wanna

7:55

touch on before I lose you just what Hollywood

7:58

is saying because they're reacting one

8:00

of the the kings of Hollywood, Tom Hanks,

8:02

who played colonel Tom Parker in the film,

8:04

Elvis, he shared some

8:05

things. What did he have to say? There's definitely

8:08

an outpouring of support. Tom

8:10

and Rita, they said they're absolutely heartbroken.

8:12

And at Nicholas Cage, we mentioned him

8:14

earlier, also spoke out and

8:17

it was really moving. I think everyone is just

8:19

saying, you know, she's reunited now with

8:21

Benjamin and her father and

8:23

they're trying to picture them all together

8:26

at this

8:26

point. And hopefully that brings a little bit of

8:28

comfort. My heart goes out to her

8:31

entire family and friends and

8:33

kids. I'm keeping them all in

8:35

my

8:35

prayers. And now thank you for coming on to discuss

8:37

this all with me. Thank you for having me.

8:40

Coming up, We continue our coverage of

8:43

Lisa Marie Pressley as we take a look

8:45

back at her life, losing her famous father

8:47

at age nine, her marriage to stars

8:49

Michael Jackson and Nicholas Cage, and

8:51

the legacy she leaves will be right

8:53

back.

9:00

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9:04

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9:08

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9:10

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to reserve your spot today.

9:34

We are back and now joining us

9:36

to talk more about the life and times

9:38

of Lisa Marie Pressley is People's Executive

9:41

Editor, Jeremy Halliburton. Jeremy.

9:43

Thanks for coming on with

9:44

us today. You're very welcome.

9:46

Well, Lisa has been in the limelight

9:49

literally since birth. As we all

9:51

know, she was born in nineteen sixty

9:53

eight to father Elvis Presley and mother

9:55

Priscilla. She was nine

9:57

when her father died. And this was

9:59

the beginning of a life that would be filled

10:01

with some pretty devastating setbacks

10:03

in her four marriages and with the

10:05

loss of her son. So Let's get

10:08

into it. The the death of her father

10:10

made her the joint heir of his estate

10:12

at such a young age. Correct?

10:14

Yeah. Before she was even a

10:17

teenager, she was

10:19

the sole heir to

10:21

her father's homeland residence.

10:23

So they higher presley legacy.

10:26

She was just a teenager and

10:29

her mother, Priscilla, is actually

10:31

the person who was responsible for

10:34

really making that

10:36

estate what it became the

10:38

multi billion dollar

10:40

estate that it ended up becoming.

10:43

And that just kinda shows you the

10:45

respect that Priscilla had

10:48

for her former husband and the

10:50

love that she had for her

10:51

daughter.

10:52

For sure. And and it wasn't left to Priscilla

10:54

because, I mean, they were divorced by that

10:56

time. Yeah? Yes. Exactly. It wasn't

10:59

left to her. But pursuing

11:01

has talked a lot over

11:03

the years about how important

11:06

Elvis was in her life and

11:08

she's always spoken very highly

11:11

of him. So even though they

11:13

divorced several years before

11:15

he died, they remain

11:17

close, and she remained

11:19

very fond and respectful

11:21

of him. And of course, did Lisa

11:24

Marie. She had shared all

11:26

of these just different fond memories of

11:28

him, like Elvis, by the press release, that

11:30

book that came out at memoir, and

11:32

she had that one line that was so

11:34

just evocative of what her life was like when

11:36

he was alive. She said if

11:38

Elvis was in a good mood. It was going

11:41

to be a great day. We ride horses or

11:43

ride around in golf carts. The thing about

11:45

my father is that he never hit anything.

11:48

If he was clabby, we knew it.

11:50

His temper could give Darth Vader a

11:52

run for his money, but if he was happy,

11:54

everyone was

11:55

happy. He'd never bore you. So she

11:57

sounds like a daddy's girl. Yes.

11:59

She really was. And you know what?

12:01

I feel like you know, to say

12:03

that your dad sort of sets

12:06

the tone for your future

12:08

relationships. I don't know how

12:10

true that was in her case, although Michael

12:13

Jackson, there are comparisons there.

12:15

But I think the fact that she was nine

12:17

years old, when her father

12:20

died, it allowed her to create

12:22

this very idealized version

12:24

of Elvis in her head and

12:27

she carried that version of Elvis

12:30

through her life.

12:31

Yeah. And you bring up how that

12:33

may or may not have impacted her relationship.

12:35

She was married four times. Low

12:38

profile is not something I would call her

12:40

life when it comes to relationships. Her

12:42

most memorable marriage, probably being

12:45

her second to Michael Jackson, but

12:47

Danny Keogh was her first

12:48

husband. So let's start with that relationship.

12:50

Tell us a little more about it. That was a very

12:52

important relationship for her. Because,

12:55

of course, it gave her her

12:57

daughter and the son Benjamin. And

13:00

they divorced but

13:04

they remained really close. You know,

13:06

she told people in two thousand five,

13:08

we are like brother and sisters, so

13:10

it isn't weird at all. Ultimately,

13:13

this is a good message to send out

13:15

to people. You don't have to put your crap

13:17

on your kids even if you are not

13:19

together, you can still be civilized. I

13:22

knew with the age that I had, the kids with him,

13:24

that Danny was someone I could be connected

13:26

with for the rest of my

13:27

life. I knew he would be a good

13:30

father. And they were

13:32

friends. Yeah. And Danny Keel,

13:34

a musician. And then later,

13:36

less than a month actually after splitting

13:39

from

13:39

him. She married another musician, the king

13:41

of pop. I remember a lot of people thought

13:43

that it was a publicity stunt. But

13:46

listen, we always said that

13:48

it was a real marriage. She

13:51

said, I am very much in love with Michael.

13:53

I dedicate my life to being his wife.

13:55

I understand and support him.

13:57

That's what she said in a statement at

13:59

the time. And although

14:02

they ended their relationship, a couple years

14:04

later, she never

14:07

said a bad word about

14:09

Michael Jackson in public, you know,

14:11

even when all of the allegations

14:14

were made against Michael Jackson

14:16

later

14:16

on. She never really publicly

14:19

said anything negative about him.

14:21

Well, then we get to her third

14:23

marriage with actor Nicholas Cage.

14:26

Now, to me, this came even

14:28

more out of the blue than

14:30

Michael Jackson because they

14:33

come from completely different worlds.

14:35

I mean, Nicholas Cage did

14:37

appear in the movie, honeymoon, Vegas.

14:40

So I guess there is an Elvis connection

14:42

there, but I

14:44

don't think anyone really expected

14:47

them to become

14:49

husband and wife. But That

14:51

marriage also didn't last.

14:54

It lasted even less time

14:56

than Michael Jackson, departed where

14:58

it's only four months after getting married.

15:01

And Nicholas Cage has actually

15:03

come out with a statement after Lisa

15:05

Marie Pressley said talking

15:08

about what a solid person

15:10

she was and what a good person she was.

15:12

So I think although their

15:14

marriage didn't last either,

15:18

this still on some level

15:20

were on good terms. Yeah.

15:22

And finally, her marriage to Michael Lockwood,

15:25

whom she had two daughters

15:27

with, and we heard a lot about

15:29

this one. Right, Jeremy? Yeah. This

15:31

one was messy. They fought

15:33

over custody of their twin daughters,

15:36

and there was a lot of

15:39

financial drama in that relationship

15:42

as well and from

15:44

all reports that were not on good

15:46

terms at the end. And

15:49

I think the one that question mark that

15:51

remains is what's gonna happen

15:53

to their twin daughters now.

15:56

Presumably, he will get

15:58

custody of them. But

16:00

that was not a good

16:01

marriage. That did not have a

16:04

good end. Well, she

16:06

did get, you know, two babies out

16:08

of that and and being a mom seemed to be

16:10

the role that she was most proud of in her

16:12

life. She says she was quote, ferociously

16:15

protective over her children. And

16:17

she unfortunately lost her son, Benjamin,

16:20

who died by suicide in twenty twenty

16:22

at the age of just twenty

16:23

seven. So what did she share about

16:26

being a mom and and specifically how

16:28

she coped with that situation? Benjamin's

16:32

passing was really, really tough on

16:34

her. Last year, she wrote an

16:36

essay for people digital, where

16:39

she talked about the difficulty

16:41

of dealing with grief. And

16:44

she talked about how it's something that

16:46

she will have to live with for the rest

16:48

of her life. It's something you never

16:50

get over and you

16:52

don't really understand what

16:55

a person is going through. Until

16:57

you go through the same thing.

17:00

I think that sadness and that grief

17:02

war on

17:03

her, and it's something that really impacted

17:06

the final years of her life.

17:09

She she wrote in that essay obviously no

17:11

parent chooses this road and thankfully

17:13

not all parents will have to become a victim to

17:15

it, and I do mean victim here.

17:18

And Jeremy, before I lose you, we cannot talk

17:20

about Lisa Marie Pressley without

17:22

talking about her art, her

17:24

her gift, and there's so much

17:26

made, you know, in these days, that's

17:28

so and so's daughter, that's so and so's son.

17:30

But just in in your opinion, in your words,

17:33

what made her not just Elvis'

17:35

daughter? Well, it's funny because

17:37

I remember when I was growing

17:39

up, you always heard about Lisa Marie talking

17:42

about how she was working on music and the

17:44

music never came. And she didn't release

17:46

the first album until she was well into

17:48

her thirties. But

17:51

anyone who hears that music

17:53

realizes that she had serious chops.

17:56

She was a sing songwriter. And

17:59

I think that now

18:02

people will actually go back and

18:04

revisit that that music and

18:06

realize that it wasn't

18:08

about nepotism. It wasn't about

18:10

Cole's thing on her family name. She

18:13

actually had musical talent.

18:15

If you don't believe it, listen

18:18

to her debut single. It's called lights

18:20

out. Amazing song. Amazing

18:23

video. Lisa Marie had

18:25

it. And I hope that people

18:27

actually get to go

18:30

back and

18:31

discover that musical talent.

18:34

Wow. Well, dedications

18:36

and well wishes for her children and family

18:38

are just everywhere, and she was definitely

18:41

someone who left her mark on this world, and I

18:43

am just so grateful to you for, you know,

18:45

putting all of that into perspective so beautifully

18:47

for us. Thank you so

18:48

much, Jeremy. You're so welcome, Janine.

18:53

Well, guys, all day today, I've just

18:55

been thinking about Lisa Marie's family. I

18:57

mean, her mother, Priscilla, it's so hard

18:59

for people to lose that child and then

19:01

of course for her four children

19:03

who lost their mother. All of it

19:05

made me think about what life must have been

19:08

like for Lisa Marie who lost her father

19:10

at such a young age when she was just

19:12

nine years old as we said. In interviews

19:14

she did over the years, she talked about

19:16

how she always felt close with her father

19:18

even though they had such a short time together.

19:20

Back in twenty eighteen, Lisa Murray released

19:22

a version of her father's song where no

19:25

one stands alone, where she blended

19:27

her vocals with his. It has some

19:29

beautiful gospel lyrics and is all about

19:31

someone taking your hand and guiding you

19:33

into the great unknown. It's

19:45

a beautiful song. And there's an accompanying music

19:48

video that shows Klipsips of Elvis and Lisa

19:50

Murray together. She was taken far

19:52

too young. I mean, fifty four is just not

19:54

that old, but I do have some

19:57

hope that she is finally at peace and

19:59

not standing alone. Well,

20:15

that is our show for today. We will

20:18

be off on Monday in honor of Martin

20:20

Luther King Day. Make sure to try and make

20:22

it a day of service you guys. Also, try

20:24

not to miss me too much, and I will

20:26

talk to you all next Tuesday and

20:29

kick off a brand new week of people

20:31

every day. People every

20:33

day is produced by Chrissy Lindquist, Tony

20:35

Mantiya, Amy Moschado, and Madison

20:37

Luzby, edited by Morgan Fuse,

20:40

Carter Wogan, and Michael Aquino, and

20:42

made with help from Patrick Remiliant and

20:44

the great team at PAW People's

20:46

producers are Meade, Janine Rubinstein, and

20:49

Charlotte Triggs, show is associate

20:51

produced by Alyssa Sessler and Fallon

20:53

Harge, an executive produced by David Flumanbaum

20:55

and Zoe Ruderman.