As the wife of the King of Rock and Roll Priscilla Presley garnered attention and a new fanbase upon marrying Elvis Presley. At the young age of 14, when she met Elvis Presley, Priscilla’s parents expressed strong concerns about Elvis’ behavior, age, maturity and older friends. Despite her parents’ concerns due to her and Elvis’ ten-year age gap, Priscilla disagreed and chose to marry Elvis seven years later, not knowing what her life would turn into and how popular their relationship would become.
In the initial stages of their romance, Elvis and Priscilla strived to carve out moments for each other amid their hectic schedules. Even with Elvis constantly on tour and Priscilla attending school, their close friends and family noticed how heavily Elvis influenced Priscilla’s life. With his natural charm, Elvis changed Priscilla’s aesthetic by making her use heavier makeup, believing he could mold her into his ideal woman.
“I think that with today’s social standards and norms, their age gap would be heavily frowned upon. It was very weird how he practically changed her personality while she was still a teenager. It’s almost as if she was being brainwashed by someone with a god-like complex,” junior Evan Fernandez said.
Following the conclusion of their marriage in 1973 and Elvis’s death in 1977, Priscilla published her memoir “Elvis and Me” in 1985, which discussed the rocky beginning of their relationship and how it ended. Showing remorse and care for her late husband, Priscilla did not bash Elvis in her memoir; she wrote and published her memoir for clarity to debunk theories and misconceptions about their relationship. She revealed in the memoir that one of the main reasons for the divorce came from her wanting to regain control over her life.
The Elvis Presley Trust, dedicated to promoting and continuing Elvis’ legacy, did not promote Sofia Coppola’s movie, “Priscilla,” a film based on Priscilla’s memoir. Fans believe the company did not promote this to discourage criticism of Elvis’ dishonorable actions toward Priscilla, as revealed in both the book and film.
In late November 2023, the film adaptation of Priscilla’s memoir hit theaters, offering fans an intimate connection with Priscilla as they resonated with her experiences in the relationship with Elvis. Sofia Coppola, the director of the film, showed the abusive and narcissistic side of Elvis, leading fans to see a new story, greatly differing from the glorified version of him shown in Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” in 2022.
“I think that the version of Elvis in both movies is clearly very different. Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ clearly shows the god-like version of Elvis since the whole movie is in honor of him. Sofia Coppola’s film is in honor of Priscilla and gave her story the publicity it never got but deserved. It’s full of truth and shows everyone what Elvis was like,” junior Aubrey Mcpherson said.
Priscilla’s fanbase will continue to show love as they grow in support for her and her family during any rough patches, as they did in the past and recently with the passing of her and Elvis’ only child, Lisa Marie Presley. Although her status originated from her marriage to Elvis, today, Priscilla earns recognition for staying strong in telling her story, even if it slightly tarnishes Elvis’ image.
