Elvis & Priscilla Presley

Her biological father, James Wagner, was a pilot who was killed in a plane crash when Priscilla was just an infant. Her mother, Norwegian-American Anna Lillian Iversen, then married Paul Beaulieu, a United States Air Force officer. Beaulieu took over the raising of Priscilla and is known as her father. The Beaulieus were stationed in West Germany at the same time as Elvis during his stint in the United States Army. Priscilla was 14 years old when she met Elvis in Wiesbaden.

Elvis managed to talk the extremely reluctant Beaulieu's into allowing Priscilla to live with his father (Vernon Presley) and stepmother, Dee Presley, at a home Elvis purchased on Heritage Drive in Memphis. The seventeen-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu 'worked' on her mother to get her support but before finally agreeing, her still reluctant and protective father flew with her to Los Angeles where Presley was filming Fun in Acapulco. After discussing the 'rules', she and her father flew to Memphis where they met with Vernon Presley, made arrangements for Priscilla's enrollment in the Immaculate Conception school and her father confirmed her living arrangements at Vernon Presley's house.

Once living in Memphis in 1962, Priscilla Beaulieu says she moved into Graceland bit by bit, at first spending occasional nights with Presley, later moving in and sleeping together every night. In her 1985 autobiography, the bestseller Elvis and Me, which was later adapted to a television miniseries, Priscilla describes Presley as a very passionate man who was not overtly sexual towards her. Although he would spend hours alone with her in her bedroom, Priscilla wrote that Elvis never made any advances towards her. According to her account (p130), Elvis told her that they had to wait until they were married before having intercourse. He said, 'I'm not saying we can't do other things. It's just the actual encounter. I want to save it'. Priscilla adds, 'Fearful of not pleasing him - of destroying my image as his little girl - I resigned myself to the long wait. Instead of consummating our love in the usual way, he began teaching me other means of pleasing him. We had a strong connection, much of it sexual. The two of us created some exciting and wild times'.

Priscilla and Elvis were married on May 1, 1967 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Aladdin Hotel, and daughter Lisa Marie was born nine months later on February 1, 1968. They separated in February of 1972 and were divorced in October of 1973. Their divorce provided for mutual custody of Lisa Marie, who lived with Priscilla in Los Angeles, California and with her father at Graceland.

After her divorce from Elvis, Priscilla began a boutique and ran it for five years before getting into modeling and acting. After signing with the William Morris Agency, Priscilla made her television debut in 1980 as a co-host of the ABC series Those Amazing Animals with the legendary Burgess Meredith. She went on to portray the lead role of Jenna Wade on the soap opera Dallas from 1983 to 1988 and starred opposite Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun gag movie trilogy.

Priscilla, Lisa & Elvis Presley

Presley, 58, sees that part of her mission in life is to protect Elvis' legacy. That led her to write her 1987 book Elvis and Me, which she viewed as a response to acclaimed author Albert Goldman's vicious tome 'Elvis'. She didn't want Lisa to read Goldman's screed 'and think that's what her father was'.

The ex-wife doesn't read all the Elvis books, but she has a favorite: Peter Guralnick's ungossipy Last Train to Memphis.

'He really captured the whole mood, the whole time and the whole event of Elvis', she said. 'I think he said it beautifully'.

After Elvis' death Priscilla took control of Elvis Presley Enterprises and built it to the organization it is today. Learning to deal with the business was a challenge. There was no school for her; she observed others, including Elvis' longtime manager Col. Tom Parker, and learned by trial and error, she said. 'I learned a lot from the Colonel of what not to do'.

'The challenge with the estate is to keep the quality in and keep his legacy so it's always respected. The challenge of being with him was, gosh, keeping him on the straight and narrow. I think dealing with the estate is easier'. She burst into laughter.

For more information on Elvis and Priscilla buy the Elvis By The Presleys DVD -- at over 4 hours this double DVD set will tell you everything you want to know and more plus includes lots of home movies of Elvis, Priscilla and Lisa Marie. A must for every fan! -- Also there is Priscilla's book -- Elvis & Me.

- Photos : Priscilla Beaulieu Presley
- Elvis Presley & Priscilla Beaulieu

- My Life With and Without Elvis Presley - August, 1973
- Watch Priscilla Presley on Larry King Live
- Married at 21, Priscilla Presley Recalls Her Time With Elvis
- Priscilla And Lisa To Greet Prime Minister And President
- Elvis looked even better in person, Priscilla says
- Interview with Lisa Marie Presley