Priscilla Presley | |
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Presley at The O2 Gala Night at the O2 in London, December 2014
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Born |
Priscilla Ann Wagner May 24, 1945 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
Other names | Priscilla Beaulieu |
Occupation | Actress, Businesswoman |
Spouse(s) | Elvis Presley (m. 1967; div. 1973) |
Children | |
Relatives |
Riley Keough (granddaughter) Michael Lockwood (son-in-law) |
Website | www |
Priscilla Ann Presley (née Wagner; born May 24, 1945) is an American actress and business magnate. She is the former wife of the late entertainer Elvis Presley as well as co-founder and former chairwoman of Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), the company that turned Graceland into one of the top tourist attractions in the United States. She practices Scientology. In her acting career, Presley starred with Leslie Nielsen in the three successful Naked Gun films, and played the role of Jenna Wade on the long-running television series Dallas.
Priscilla's maternal grandfather, Albert Henry Iversen, was born in 1899 in Egersund, Norway. He emigrated to the United States, where he married Lorraine, who was of Scots-Irish and English descent. Their only daughter, Anna Lillian Iversen, was born in March 1926. Later she was called – or her name was changed to – Ann. At the age of 19, she gave birth to Priscilla.
In a letter to the City Hall of Egersund, Ann asked for information about their relatives, and wrote that Priscilla was interested in knowing about them; Priscilla's parents then visited family members in Norway in the 1990s. Priscilla has a square named after her in Egersund – Priscilla Presleys plass. The area is in the street outside the house where her grandfather was born and lived. Priscilla and her family were invited by the Lord Mayor of Egersund to the opening ceremony of Priscilla Presleys plass, which took place August 23, 2008, but were unable to go due to Lisa Marie being pregnant.
Priscilla's biological father was US Navy pilot James Wagner. His parents were Kathryn and Harold Wagner. On August 10, 1944, at the age of 23, he married Priscilla's mother; they had been dating for more than three years. He was killed in a plane crash while returning home on leave when Priscilla was six months old. When Priscilla discovered this "family secret" while rummaging through an old wooden box of family keepsakes, she was encouraged by her mother to keep it from the other children as she feared it would "endanger our family closeness".