In a deeply personal and heartbreaking reveal, Priscilla Presley is opening up about one of the most devastating moments of her life: the day she said goodbye to her only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley.
The 80-year-old icon, known as Elvis Presley’s former wife and mother to his only child, has shared raw details in her upcoming memoir, Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis, set to hit shelves September 23.
In an early excerpt published by People, Priscilla recalled the unimaginable day in January 2023, just hours after Lisa Marie suffered a cardiac arrest at her Calabasas home.
“I knew from the first moment I walked into Lisa’s hospital room that she was already gone,” Priscilla wrote. “She was hooked to a machine that was breathing for her, and she had a heartbeat. There was little brain activity. Her spirit, always so vital, wasn’t there.”
Despite the grim outlook, no one was ready to give up—especially her granddaughter, Riley Keough, who reportedly felt Lisa’s spirit leave while still flying to the hospital.
Priscilla continued, “It was unbearable. I began to sob. I don’t remember falling. I know that Ivy [her cousin] caught me. After that, everything went dark. I can’t remember. I don’t want to remember.”
As Priscilla prepares to share her grief with the world, she’s also fighting back against a sensational $50 million lawsuit that accuses her of taking Lisa Marie off life support for financial gain.
The lawsuit, filed by former business partners Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko, claims Priscilla acted against Lisa Marie’s advance directive and removed her from life support before granddaughter Riley could arrive.
Even more explosively, the lawsuit alleges Priscilla was motivated by a desire to maintain control over the Presley estate—especially Lisa Marie’s trust and the legendary Graceland property.
The complaint paints Priscilla as a calculating “opportunist,” accusing her of ignoring Lisa Marie’s explicit wishes to be kept alive “as long as possible.” It even claims she told family after the funeral, “I’m the queen. I’m in charge of Graceland.”
Priscilla is firing back hard. Her attorney, Marty Singer, called the lawsuit “one of the most shameful, ridiculous, salacious, and meritless” he’s seen.
“Accusing a grieving mother of contributing to her daughter’s death is not savvy advocacy,” Singer said. “It is malicious character assassination.”
He added that Riley Keough, now the heir to Graceland, “stands behind her grandmother 100 percent.”
This legal battle is just the latest in a long and bitter war over the Presley family legacy. In July 2024, Priscilla sued Kruse and Fialko, alleging they manipulated her into signing over rights to her name, likeness, and income streams.
She claims they drained her bank accounts, misused funds, and even tried to charge her $30,000 to store her own personal property. In one instance, she says they torpedoed a lucrative cosmetics deal and pocketed a $300,000 payout.
Kruse and Fialko insist they saved Priscilla from financial ruin—alleging they pulled her out of nearly $700,000 in tax debt, restructured her business, and increased her event earnings from $10,000 to over $50,000 per appearance.
The pair say they were fired just days before finalizing a multi-million dollar settlement for her, and claim they were never paid for their work.
As this ugly legal fight unfolds, Priscilla is hoping her memoir can bring the focus back to what matters: her love for Lisa Marie, her grief, and her complicated life in the shadow of Elvis.
But with more than $50 million in damages on the line—and the Presley legacy hanging in the balance—this story is far from over.
Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis hits bookstores on September 23.
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Can\’t believe a word Priscilla says. The only person she truly loves is her drug addict illegitimate son.I don\’t believe she ever loved Lisa Marie or Elvis.