Lisa Marie Presley: The Real Reason You Don't Hear From Her Anymore
Lisa Marie Presley had no choice but to be famous.
She's the daughter of music legend and American icon Elvis Presley, and she was married to the King of Pop. Still, the Graceland heiress and rock singer isn't too keen on being in the public eye, even when it seems like she's courting publicity. She explained to Oprah in 2010 (via the Huffington Post) that her marriage to Michael Jackson was a highlight of her life, not because she was in the spotlight but because she was in his shadow — save for their infamous televised smooch at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards.
"I've never been comfortable being front and center, honestly," she said. "Don't like attention on me. Loved being next to him and taking care of him. I was on such a high doing that ... that it was a very profound time in my life."
The reclusive rock spawn has flown even more under the radar lately than ever before. Here's why she's been keeping her life super private.
Her family life is a disaster
Presley has gone through a really ugly divorce from Michael Lockwood, her husband of nearly 12 years. She initially filed in June 2016, People reported, with Presley's attorney claiming that he was a poor father, was verbally abusive, and was financially abusive and mismanaged the heiress' fortune, leading to money problems.
In February 2017, court documents obtained by the Daily Mail revealed that Presley and Lockwood's twin daughters, Harper and Finley, were removed from their home after the singer alleged that Lockwood had "hundreds of inappropriate photos of children and is facing allegation of sexual abuse and neglect." Lockwood and his legal team denied the claims, and as of press time, he has never been prosecuted for any of the allegations Presley levied against him. By March 2017, People reported that investigations into Presley's allegations had closed, having turned up insufficient evidence that any crime had actually occurred.
Still, the girls, who were 8 years old at the time, remained in the custody of Presley's mother, Priscilla, who told Entertainment Tonight, "It's still a very family-oriented situation for them ... They're great. They're doing wonderful. They're living a great life. They see both their parents." Lockwood reportedly had monitored visitation with his daughters, and Presley alleged that he called paparazzi to make himself look like a doting dad to the public.
She went broke
Lisa Marie Presley claimed in court documents (obtained by People) that she has an income of $4,361 per month from her father's estate, plus $100,000 per month in dividends from investments and other ventures, netting her a cool $1.25 million a year for not doing much. Must be nice, right?
Except Presley also claimed in the same paperwork that she's a whopping $16.7 million in debt.
She made the claim in a response to a February 2017 court order to pay Lockwood $50,000 for court fees. Her attorneys claimed that the majority of Presley's debts were unpaid income taxes from 2012 through 2015, totaling more than $10 million. She also reportedly had $50,000 in credit card debt, though documents noted she had successfully paid off some of her cards in full, including one for $300,000 and another for $111,083. Presley had also defaulted on the $6 million mortgage of her U.K. home, which she'd been trying to sell for two years.
She's suing her former business manager
As a result of Presley's financial mess, she sued her business manager for allegedly mishandling her funds. The Blast reported that Presley accused Barry Siegel of turning her $100 million trust from her father's estate to just $14,000. Presley claimed in court documents that Siegel "placed her assets in risky ventures in hopes of attaining his own celebrity in the entertainment industry." She alleged that Siegel sold a whopping 85 percent of her trust over a period of 11 years and that, when his investments didn't pan out well, he began liquidating her assets to hide the money that was allegedly missing from her trust.
However, Siegel's attorneys alleged that it was Presley's own reckless spending that led to the demise of her fortune, People reported, and denied any wrongdoing in regards to managing her money. What's more, Siegel's countersuit claimed that his investments actually netted her a ton of money but that she blew all of it — and that she stopped paying Siegel's company, Providence Financial Management, and is only suing because she's so hard-pressed for cash in general.
She battled substance abuse issues
Presley admitted in court documents obtained by Radar Online that she battled substance abuse issues during her marriage to Lockwood and that her drug and alcohol problems were at their worst during the final years of their coupling. She confessed to abusing cocaine during the final year of the marriage, as well as to having a dependency on painkillers and opioids and to mixing prescription drugs with alcohol in the final two years of her marriage.
Presley did try to get help for her addictions, going to rehab in Mexico "three or four" times (then later admitting it may have actually been five times) during the last few years of her marriage to Lockwood. Us Weekly reported in August 2016 — two months after Presley first filed for divorce from Lockwood — that she sought treatment in Los Angeles for prescription drug abuse. In October 2017, Life & Style reported that Presley completed rehab and got custody of her twin daughters back.
Presley's substance abuse issues date back to her teen years. She told Paper magazine in 2003 that she used "cocaine, sedatives, pot, and drinking — all at the same time ... I just couldn't be sober. I don't know how I lived through it."
She may be avoiding Scientologists (or its detractors)
Presley told Paper magazine in 2003 that she joined the Church of Scientology in an effort to get sober as a teen and credited them with her clean living while she was a member. However, Presley's relationship with the church today is reportedly complicated.
It's been widely rumored for years that Presley left Scientology, though her adult daughter, Riley Keough, and her mother, Priscilla, are still active members. Still, Presley has never publicly commented on her alleged exit from Scientology. Radar Online reported that she went back to Scientology in March 2017 after her addictions reared their ugly heads, reportedly at the behest of Keough and Priscilla.
However, a source told Page Six in August 2017 that Presley's friendship with anti-Scientologist crusader Leah Remini was ruined because Presley believed Remini was manipulating her and heard that children of her own Scientologist friends were being bullied at school and that their parents were being harassed. Reps for Remini denied the allegations.
Her love life is a mess
Aside from Presley's marriage to fourth husband Lockwood falling apart, her love life has been a bit of a disaster for decades, which may well be why she has remained under the radar.
She married Danny Keough in 1988, with whom she had daughter Riley and son Benjamin. They divorced in 1994 — and, two days after the divorce was finalized, she married Michael Jackson. Presley and Jackson divorced after just two years (and one all-too-memorable music video) together. In 2002, she wed actor and Elvis super-fan Nicolas Cage after a 10-day engagement, only to divorce him after 108 days.
She revealed to Oprah in 2010 that she and Jackson had a relatively normal marriage at first, but then drugs and enablers (and daddy issues) got in the way.
"The one thing that correlates with Michael and with my father on this subject is that they had the luxury of creating whatever reality around them they wanted to create," Presley said (via the Huffington Post). "They could have the kinds of people who were going to go with their program or not go with their program ... I felt I was disposable ... It was the same with my father. There have been times when I've been angry at the people around him. 'Why didn't you stop him? Why didn't you say something?' Well, because if you did, you were out. It's very simple."
Her music career fizzled out
Presley hit the music scene in a big way with her 2003 debut album, To Whom It May Concern, which featured the hit single "Lights Out." The record was certified gold and hit the top 5 on the Billboard charts.
Unfortunately, the success was short-lived. Her sophomore effort, Now What, peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard charts in 2005 with single "Dirty Laundry" hitting No. 36; her third record, Storm & Grace, peaked at No. 45 in 2012.
News.au also reported that Presley was so eager to distance herself from her father and ex Michael Jackson's memories that her 2014 Australian tour had a stipulation for meet and greets banning anyone who was dressed up as either music legend from attending.
Making music that she wanted to make and that felt personal was tough for Presley. She told Rolling Stone of what made Storm & Grace different from her other albums.
"I'm always feeling a bit like I need to fight and kick, I don't know why. But all I ended up doing in the past by trying to do anything else was stepping and tripping on my own feet," she said. "It didn't prove anything to anyone to do something completely different that had nothing to do with anything. It was always against myself and hurting myself, though I was thinking I was fighting other people ... I'm not doing that anymore."
She may be working on a book
Part of why Lisa Marie Presley has kept so quiet recently is because she's saving her stories for a memoir. Radar Online reported in April 2018 that Presley is planning a tell-all book to set all of the stories about her life straight — and to pay off some of her old debts.
"Lisa has one hell of a story to tell," an insider spilled. "It's likely to ruffle a lot of feathers with family and friends. She's already burned plenty of bridges, but she won't be holding back." The source added, "Lisa doesn't yet have a publishing deal but she will undoubtedly have a lot of offers in the coming months. Besides that, she has to wait until her legal issues are sorted out."
We're sure that whatever Presley has to say in her book will have us glued to the pages. After all, plenty of celebrities have been able to shock and awe with — and likely make a hefty paycheck from — their tell-all publications.
She shuns the spotlight
Possibly the biggest reason you don't hear about Lisa Marie Presley anymore is because that's exactly the way that she wants it.
Presley was born into superstardom, but she never actively sought it out, even in her highly publicized marriages and music career. In fact, she insists that being the center of attention actually terrifies her. "When I have to speak in public, I get so neurotic that I lose control of my tongue, my legs, and whatever else," she told Playboy in 2003 (via the Official Elvis Presley Fan Club). "If I'm standing in front of a lot of people, I feel that they are thinking about me, their speculation."
Still, she understands why the world is fascinated by her and her life, and she doesn't necessarily fault them for it. She explained, "I don't like talking about myself ... I have to combat 30 years of speculation and tabloid stuff. I have to go out there and say, 'Hi, I'm not that person.' However, I understand the curiosity, and I don't want to ... or look like I'm hiding something. I realize why I feel vulnerable and afraid — a lot of people do interviews based on what their publicists tell them. I put my a** out there, cellulite and all."