エルヴィス・プレスリーの妻プリシラは現在75歳で奇跡的な美しさを保つ

1月 10, 2021

プリシラ・アン・プレスリーは今年75歳になりました。彼女は生粋のニューヨーカーであり、ロックンロールの帝王、故エルビス・プレスリーの元妻であることで最も良く知られています。エルビスが亡くなった後の43年間、彼とは無縁の生活を送ってきました。今日の彼女の姿を見てみましょう。

「死にたかったです。」これは元夫エルビス・プレスリーの死を知った後のプリシラ・プレスリーの言葉です。2人は4年前に離婚していましたが プリシラは彼が「最愛の人だった」と 言い続けていました。2016年のインタビューでプリシラはこう語っています：「私は彼を愛していなかったから離婚したのでありません。彼は人生で最愛の人でしたが、私は世の中を見る必要がありました。」二人の離婚は1973年10月9日に成立し、エルヴィスは1977年8月16日に亡くなりました。

二人の出会いは、ドイツ駐在のアメリカ陸軍にエルビスが在籍していた時に、プリシラの父親が従軍していた空軍の赴任先として家族と一緒にドイツに移住した時のことでした。

二人の関係は物議を醸しました。エルヴィスと交際を始めたとき、プリシラはわずか14歳でした。当時エルヴィスはまだ10代のプリシラに、彼女の服装から見た目まで彼が望んでいたように指導したことが広く報道されています。結婚している間、二人はテネシー州メンフィスの「グレイスランド」と呼ばれる家に住んでいました。プリシラは23歳の時に出産し、二人の間には一人娘のリサ・マリー・プレスリーが生まれました。1972年の初めに、プリシラはエルヴィスのライフスタイルについていけなくなりエルヴィスと別れました。

エルビスとプリシラが別れた後、エルヴィスはもう同じ人ではありませんでした。エルヴィスが42歳で1977年に亡くなる時までに、複数の疾患を患っていました。離婚後、エルヴィスはジンジャー・オールデンと出会い、婚約しました。ジンジャーは彼が自宅の浴室の床に倒れて死んでいるのを発見した人です。検死の結果、エルヴィスは心停止で死亡していたことが判明しました。彼は太りすぎていたし、かなりの数の処方箋を服用していました。

エルヴィスと別れて以来、プリシラはたくさんの男性と恋愛関係を持ちました。離婚後、雑誌ブラックベルト(Black Belt)でも触れられているように、彼女とエルヴィスの両方にレッスンをしていた空手の指導者であるマイク・ストーンと交際を始めましたが、数年後の1975年には別れました。その後、彼女は写真家のテリー・オニール(Terry O’Neill)や弁護士のロバート・カーダシアン(Robert Kardashian)など、数人の著名人と交際しました。プリシラがこれまでに最も長く交際したのはマルコ・ガリバルディ(Marco Garibaldi)で、彼らは22年間一緒にいました。バイオグラフィーというサイトによると、ガリバルディはイタリアの脚本家からコンピュータ・プログラマーに転向した人物でした。2人の間には1人の息子がいます。現在33歳のミュージシャンでナヴァロン・アンソニー・ガリバルディ（Navarone Anthony Garibaldi）です。

2017年にはプリシラがウェールズ出身の歌手トム・ジョーンズとデートしていたとMirrorというサイトが報じています。2人がまだ付き合っているかどうかは不明ですが、プリシラについてトムは次のように述べています：「私たちは長年の友人です。」また、「彼女は素敵な女性です。」と付け加えました。同サイトによると、トムはエルヴィスの親友で、1960年代から1970年代にかけて彼とプリシラの両方と一緒に過ごしたことがあるということです。

パンデミックのために誰にとっても厳しい一年でしたが、プリシラは彼女の孫のベンジャミン・キョウ(Benjamin Keough)が2020年7月12日に自ら命を絶った時に悲劇を経験しました。プリシラは、ベンジャミンの死により感じた心の傷を表現するためにFacebookにコメントを投稿しました。

「私の家族の人生の中で最も暗い日です。」とプリシラは書き込みました。「ベンを失ったショックに大きな衝撃を受けています。」 彼女は続けます。「すべての推測できる理由のすべての破片を集めると、魂を貫き抜けるように辛いです。毎朝目を覚ますと、それが良くなることを祈っています。」

プリシラはまた、彼女の家族が経験していた計り知れない痛みについて書きました。「ベンを溺愛していたので、娘が母親として経験している痛みのことについて思いを馳せます。」と娘のリサ・マリーのことについても触れました。

「ベンの父親のダニーは、ベンが一人息子だったので完全に失意のどん底にいます。愛情深くとても仲が良かったライリー、ベンに慕っていたハーパーとフィンリー、そして喪失に苦しむナヴァロン、みな深く悲しんでいます。」

プリシラは、彼女自身がそう表現したように「エルヴィスの生きた人形」であった時代から遠く離れています。エルヴィスがプリシラの髪を彼のように黒く染めさせ、彼のポンパドールに合わせてアップスタイルにした時代は終わりました。しかし、それは彼女をファッションアイコンにしたものでした。プリシラは75歳にしては十分美しく見えます。

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.

プリシラの話で一番ショックを受けたのは何でしょうか？コメント欄で書き込みいただけると嬉しいです。また、周りにロックンロールの王様ファンがいたら、このストーリーを教えてあげてください。