La exesposa de Elvis Presley, Priscilla, se ve maravillosa a sus 75 años

Nov 26, 2020

Este año, Priscilla Ann Presley llegó a los 75 años de edad. Esta neoyorquina es famosa por ser la exesposa del rey del rock n' roll, el difunto Elvis Presley. Sin embargo, desde el fallecimiento de Elvis, ella ha vivido su propia vida, y ya ha pasado 43 años sin él. Sigue leyendo para que se enteres cómo se ve hoy en día.

"Quería morir". Esas fueron las palabras que pronunció Priscilla Ann Presley cuando se enteró de la muerte de su exmarido, Elvis Presley. Los dos habían estado divorciados durante cuatro años, pero ella seguía diciendo que él era "el amor de su vida". En una entrevista que concedió en 2016, Priscilla dijo lo siguiente: "Me divorcié de él, pero no fue porque no lo amara. Él era el amor de mi vida, pero yo sentía la necesidad de salir a descubrir el mundo". Su divorcio se concretó el 9 de octubre de 1973, y Elvis se enfrentó a la muerte el 16 de agosto de 1977.

Se conocieron en Alemania, mientras Elvis sirvió en el ejército de los Estados Unidos, justo cuando Priscilla y su familia se habían mudado a ese país porque su padre fue transferido hasta allá por la fuerza aérea.

Su relación fue polémica: Priscilla tenía apenas 14 años cuando empezó a salir con Elvis. La prensa también informó que Elvis solía vestirla y arreglarla cuando era adolescente, poniéndole la ropa y el aspecto que él quería, para que combinara con su propio estilo. Mientras estuvieron casados, la pareja vivía en Memphis, Tennessee, en una casa conocida como "Graceland". Tuvieron una hija juntos, Lisa-Marie Presley, a quien Priscilla dio a luz cuando tenía 23 años. A principios de 1972, Priscilla dejó a Elvis debido a las presiones que suponía su estilo de vida.

Elvis nunca fue el mismo después de que él y Priscilla se separaron. Para cuando Elvis tenía 42 años de edad, ya presentaba múltiples problemas de salud, que terminaron acabando con su vida en 1977. Más tarde, Elvis conoció a Ginger Alden, con quien se comprometió. Ginger fue la que lo encontró tirado en el piso del baño de su casa. La autopsia reveló que Elvis había muerto de un paro cardíaco. Tenía sobrepeso y estaba tomando diversas medicinas.

Priscilla ha tenido varias relaciones románticas desde que se separó de Elvis. Tras el divorcio, empezó a salir inmediatamente con Mike Stone, un instructor de karate que le había dado lecciones a ella y a Elvis, tal como se menciona en el libro Black Belt. Sin embargo, esa relación se disolvió poco después, en 1975. Para entonces, ella estuvo en relaciones con algunas personas conocidas, como el fotógrafo Terry O'Neill y el abogado Robert Kardashian. La relación más larga que Priscilla ha tenido hasta ahora ha sido con Marco Garibaldi, con quien estuvo durante 22 años. Garibaldi es un guionista y programador informático italiano, según Biography. Los dos tuvieron un hijo, Navarone Anthony Garibaldi, que tiene 33 años y es músico.

En 2017, Mirror informó que Priscilla estaba saliendo con Tom Jones, el famoso cantante galés. No está claro si los dos siguen teniendo algo, pero Tom llegó a decir lo siguiente de ella: "Hemos sido amigos desde hace mucho tiempo... Es una dama encantadora, y disfrutamos de nuestras noches juntos", aseguró. Según la publicación, Tom era muy amigo de Elvis y había pasado tiempo con él y con Priscilla entre los años 60 y 70.

La pandemia ha hecho que este año sea difícil para todos, y Priscilla pasó por una tragedia personal cuando Benjamin Keough, su nieto, se quitó la vida el 12 de julio de 2020. Priscilla utilizó su cuenta en Facebook para expresar su dolor por la muerte de Benjamin:

"Este es uno de los días más oscuros de mi familia", escribió. "El shock de perder a Ben ha sido devastador", continuó. "He estado tratando de entender por qué lo hizo, y eso me ha destrozado el alma. Cada día que me despierto rezo para que todo mejore".

Priscilla también habló del inmenso dolor que estaban experimentando sus familiares. "Pienso en mi hija y en el dolor que está pasando, porque era una madre muy cariñosa", dijo refiriéndose a su hija, Lisa-Marie Presley.

“Danny, el padre de Ben, está totalmente devastado. Era su único hijo. Riley lo amaba y era muy cercana a él, Harper y Finley lo adoraban. Y Navarone, que también lo está pasando muy mal por esta pérdida".

Priscilla está lejos de la época en que fue "la muñeca viviente de Elvis", como ella misma se describió. Atrás quedaron los días en que él la hacía teñirse el pelo de negro, como el suyo, y la obligaba a hacerse un peinado que combinaba con su pompadour. Pero todo eso fue lo que la convirtió en un icono de la moda. Y a sus 75 años, no se ve nada mal.

In recent years Priscilla Presley has found her footing in philanthropy and charitable work. An avid animal lover, especially of horses, in 2013 she spoke out against the Tennessee Ag-Gag Bill, writing about her and Elvis Presley’s love of horses and her worries that the bill would reduce protections for many farm animals, including horses. Just this last December she posted on her Instagram about stopping the abuse of horse soring. In her post, she urged fellow activists to write to their senators to get the law changed. She has also used her platform to advocate for the protection of dogs, wolves, lions, monkeys and other animals. It's always heartwarming to see a celebrity use their voice to do good, especially when it's for our furry friends who otherwise aren't able to speak up for themselves. 

Alongside her animal activism, Priscilla Presley is also an ambassador for the Dream Foundation. She's been involved with the foundation since 2003, which grants wishes to terminally ill adults and their families. Apparently, she learned of the organization, which is the only one of its kind that works with adults, after helping to grant some of the recipients' wishes to visit Graceland. 

Priscilla Presley was actually the co-executor of the entire Presley Estate before Lisa Marie came of age, assuming the role after the death of Elvis Presley’s father, Vernon Presley, in 1979. On her official website, it states how much of an influence Priscilla Presley has had on the estate, writing,

"She has since brought the Presley Estate from a burgeoning entity into a phenomenally successful organization consisting of the famous Graceland Mansion, a worldwide licensing program, merchandising, music publishing and television and video projects."

Interestingly, Priscilla Presley, along with her late daughter Lisa Presley, were only a few of the people allowed to enter the upstairs area of Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion. Elvis Presley had a master suite on the second floor of the house, which was his private refuge, where only the closest of his friends would be allowed. It's also there, in his bathroom, where his body was found after his death. When Graceland was opened to the public in 1982, the second floor was closed off out of respect to Elvis Presley’s family and to avoid unsavory attention towards the location of his death.

In the decades that have passed, the upstairs has gained a lot of attention and a kind of myth around it. For example, there are rumors that the bedroom suite hasn't been changed since he died, with everything as it was when he passed. On top of that, no authentic high-quality photos have been released, while nobody is allowed to enter, except for Priscilla Presley and previously Lisa Marie, as well as the curator of Graceland. 

Notable people, including presidents and foreign dignitaries, have all tried to gain access but haven't been lucky. However, funnily enough, one notable but seemingly random celebrity has been there — Nicholas Cage, when he was married to Lisa Presley in the 2000s.

But beyond upholding her ex-husband's legacy and her charitable work, she's also managed to have an acting career of her own. She famously starred on the soap opera “Dallas” from 1983-1988, playing the role of Jenna Wade. She was also memorable in the “Naked Gun” movie series, which allowed her to show another side of her acting talents, this time focusing on comedy. In the 1990s, she also had small guest roles on “Melrose Place” and “Spin City.”

However, her acting career could have taken off much earlier had it not been for Elvis Presley. Supposedly he believed that "a woman's place was in the home looking after her man" — a fairly common belief at the time, but one that the rock star held on to, having no intention of letting his wife have a career of her own. Hollywood producer Hal B. Wallis, who was behind many of Elvis Presley’s early films, had been interested in signing Priscilla Presley to a contract, but it never came to be. She had been interested in dancing and modeling but kept her interests as minor hobbies rather than real career pursuits. She was even offered the role of one of the angels in “Charlie's Angels,” however, she turned it down as she didn't like the show.

Despite her life being very much influenced by her incredibly famous ex-husband, Priscilla Presley has managed to achieve a lot over the course of it. From eventually following her own dreams and acting, to her continued charitable work, she is both an inspiration in how she conducts herself as well as how incredible she looks at 78.

One little known fact about Priscilla Presley is that she was a contestant on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” back in 2008. For the show’s sixth season, she joined forces with Dutch-American ballroom dancer Louis Van Amstel.

The show’s sixth season included female contestants tennis champion Monica Seles, actress Shannon Elizabeth, Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin, Tony-award winning actress Marissa Jaret Winokur and Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi. Meanwhile, the men’s side featured football player Jason Taylor, South American actor Cristian de la Fuente, actor Steve Guttenberg, radio host Adam Carolla, pop singer Mario and magician Penn Jillette.

In an ABC interview before the show’s premiere, Priscilla Presley told reporters that she did have some previous dancing experience in ballet.

"I danced a little. I took jazz, which is completely different from ballroom dancing," Priscilla Presley told ABC. "There's a little dancing in all of us."

Naturally, Priscilla Presley’s partner and coach was excited to work with the star regardless of her experience.

"We met two days ago. We did a little bit of foxtrot. She's going to be a surprise," Louis Van Amstel said. "I'm so excited. I mean come on, it's Priscilla Presley."

Unfortunately, Priscilla Presley wasn’t able to overcome the sixth season’s tough competition, and she was eliminated during the fifth round. According to PEOPLE, she lost points and was eliminated due to her Viennese Waltz performance, which led to a score of only 22. The magazine further reports that when Tom Bergeron, the show’s host, told her the news, Presley hugged her partner and thanked the show for “an incredible life-changing experience.”

Interestingly enough, viewers who have seen Priscilla Presley’s appearances will notice that she never danced to any Elvis Presley songs. And it turns out that this was intentional. According to ABC, Priscilla Presley agreed to be on the show, but she also specifically requested not to have to dance to her late ex-husband’s music.

"I just don't really think that would be appropriate," she told ABC.

Since Priscilla Presley’s loss on the show, the 78-year-old has avoided the spotlight. Save for her Instagram account, where she has more than 200,000 followers, it’s difficult to find out what the star is up to. With that said, her IMDb page does give us some hints. For example, her most recent appearance was in a 2016 music video for Them Guns’ song “Muffins.” The music video, which heavily features the streets of Hollywood and the radio host Rodney Bingenheimer, follows the radio star as he drives to a bakery to pick up a muffin. As Bingenheimer leaves, he runs into none other than Priscilla Presley.

Although appearances like these are certainly interesting — especially for fans of the Presleys — we can also understand why Priscilla Presley wants to fly under the radar. Ever since she was a young woman, she’s been in the spotlight. And now, as she approaches 76, it’s no wonder that she wants a bit of peace and quiet.

¿Qué fue lo que más te sorprendió de la historia de Priscilla? Déjanos tus comentarios, y comparte este artículo con todos los fans del rey del rock 'n roll que conozcas.