Lisa Marie Presley dies at age 54 after cardiac arrest

Lisa Marie Presley, the 54-year-old daughter of Elvis Presley, died Thursday at a hospital after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest at her home in the Calabasas area.

Her mother, Priscilla Presley, confirmed the death in a statement to various media outlets, 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,” her mother said. “We ask for privacy as we try to deal with this profound loss. Thank you for the love and prayers. At this time there will be no further comment.”

Earlier Thursday, Priscilla Presley confirmed that her daughter had been rushed to a hospital and was “receiving the best care.”

“Please keep her and our family in your prayers. We feel the prayers from around the world, and ask for privacy during this time.”

The Los Angeles County Fire Department would not confirm the identification of the patient, but told City News Service that crews responded at 10:37 a.m. to a home in the 5900 block of Normandy Drive in an unincorporated area near the Ventura County border on a report of a woman in her mid-50s suffering a cardiac arrest.

The patient was taken to a hospital at 11:17 a.m. in unknown condition, according to the fire department.

TMZ, which broke the news, reported that paramedics were able to regain a pulse while working on Presley at her home, prior to taking her to a hospital. Citing sources close to the family, TMZ reported that a housekeeper found Lisa Marie Presley in her bedroom at the home she was sharing with her ex-husband, Danny Keough.

According to TMZ, Keough returned home at about the same time and administered CPR until paramedics arrived.

Lisa Marie and Priscilla Presley attended the Golden Globe Awards ceremony on Tuesday night at The Beverly Hilton. During the ceremony, Austin Butler won the award for best actor in a drama film for his portrayal of the King of Rock ‘n Roll in director Baz Luhrmann’s film “Elvis.”

Just days earlier, she attended a celebration at Graceland to mark what would have been her father’s 88th birthday. She then flew to Los Angeles and attended another Elvis birthday commemoration at the Formosa Cafe in West Hollywood — one of Elvis’ regular haunts in the area. Butler and Luhrmann were both in attendance at that event Sunday night.

Presley is survived by three children, including actress Riley Keough. Her son, Benjamin Keough, died in 2020 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. In addition to Danny Keough, she was also married briefly to actor Nicolas Cage and to music producer Michael Lockwood, and she had a highly publicized two-year marriage to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

She was the only child of Elvis Presley, who died when his daughter was 9 years old. When she was 25 years old, she inherited her late father’s estate, which had an estimated value of $100 million at the time. She later sold off the majority of the estate, but she maintained ownership of Graceland, her father’s famed compound.

A singer in her own right, she released an album titled “To Whom It May Concern” in 2003, featuring the hit single “Lights Out.” She followed up that release with the album “Now What” in 2005 and “Storm & Grace” in 2012, the latter of which was produced by T Bone Burnett.

After a life in the spotlight, Presley was open about her struggles with drug addiction, writing about her experiences in a foreword to the 2019 book “The United States of Opioids: A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain.”

“It is time for us to say goodbye to shame about addiction,” she wrote. “We have to stop blaming and judging ourselves and the people around us.”

Her death prompted an outpouring of grief from Hollywood.

“There is heartbreak and then there is sorrow. This would be sorrow and on more levels than I can count,” Billy Corgan, the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, wrote on Twitter.

“Please send your prayers out for her family and children at this difficult time. I truly cannot find the words to express how sad this truly is.”

Actress Leah Remini tweeted that she was “heartbroken over the passing of Lisa Marie Presley.”

“Lisa did not have an easy life, as some might think,” Remini tweeted. “May she be at peace, resting with her son and father now.”

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