Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis, dead at 54

Lisa Marie Presley, the only daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, and the one-time wife of Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage, has passed away at only 54 years old. The musician had a major cardiac event early Thursday, which came on suddenly. Only days before, Lisa Marie and her mother, Priscilla, attended the Golden Globes with Austin Butler, who took home the best actor in a drama award that night for his role playing Lisa Marie’s famed father in Elvis.

Her mother, Priscilla Presley, who’s famous in her own right for having starred opposite Leslie Nielsen in the Naked Gun movies, stated to the Associated Press, saying, “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us. She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known.”

Indeed, Presley had an impressive career, releasing three albums, one of which went gold. She had high-profile marriages to Danny Keough (father of her daughter Riley Keough, one of her four children), Michael Jackson, Nicolas Cage and Michael Lockwood. She notably stood with Jackson during his first, very public, round of child molestation accusations and was once a famous Scientologist, only to publicly leave the church in 2014. Most recently, she’d been a high-profile supporter of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, posting on her Twitter account, “I do want to take a moment to let you know that I’ve seen Baz Luhrmann’s movie “Elvis” twice now. Let me tell you that it is nothing short of spectacular. Absolutely exquisite. Austin Butler channelled and embodied my father’s heart & soul beautifully.”

Lisa Marie’s death was unexpected, although it’s worth noting that both her father and grandmother also died of heart attacks. Certainly a tragic end for a talented performer in her own right and the keeper of one of the greatest musical legacies of all time.