Lisa Marie Presley haunted by Graceland’s ‘graveyard’

23 January 2023

Lisa Marie Presley was haunted by having her family buried in Graceland’s “graveyard”.

Lisa Marie Presley was haunted by having her family buried in Graceland’s ‘graveyard’

The late singer, who died aged 54 on January 12 after suffering two heart attacks, will be laid to rest in her dad’s famous Memphis estate after a memorial service was held in her memory on its front lawn on Sunday. (22.01.23)

But she spent years hating that her family graves at the back of Graceland – including those of her dad’s Elvis and son Benjamin Keough, who took his life aged 27 in 2020 – were a constant reminder of her mortality.

Her fears were shared in an interview she gave to Playboy magazine in 2003, which has been unearthed since her death.

She told the publication: “How many people have a family grave in the backyard? How many people are reminded of their fate, of their mortality, every f****** day?

“All the graves are lined up and there's a spot there, waiting for me, right next to my grandmother.”

Lisa Marie’s actress daughter Riley Keough, 33, revealed through her eulogy – read by her stuntman and actor husband Ben Smith-Petersen at her mum’s memorial service – the couple had a daughter.

After the service, there was a procession to Lisa's final resting place in Graceland’s Meditation Garden.

The late singer’s grey marble sarcophagus sat next to her burial spot in the same spot as her son Benjamin’s, and photos of them together were placed in front of their monuments.

Benjamin’s resting place had to be moved slightly to accommodate his mum’s.

Lisa Marie’s body was on display to the public during the celebration of life at the family's estate, livestreamed at 9am.

Several of the Presley family were killed by heart conditions, including Elvis, who died in 1977 aged 42 from cardiac arrhythmia with ventricular fibrillation, a condition where the heart beats abnormally and then stops.

Lisa Marie’s grandmother, Gladys Love Presley, also died from heart failure, at the age of 46, and her grandad, Vernon Elvis Presley, died at 63 from cardiac arrest.

Mum-of-four Lisa Marie was left Elvis’ entire estate in his will when he died in 1977 aged 42, and she took control of the trust aged 25 in 1993.

Elvis was worth only around $5 million when he died, but Lisa Marie brought in millions by turning Graceland into a tourist attraction and setting up Elvis Presley Enterprises to cash in on his image and legacy.