What Happened In Priscilla Presley's Life After 'Priscilla,' Explained
She went on to become a major star in her own right.
Sofia Coppola's highly-anticipated film Priscilla has finally arrived in theaters, turning the spotlight from the rock n' roll legend to his wife, Priscilla Presley. Based on Priscilla's 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, the movie starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi shows the private story of the celeb couple's courtship, marriage, and eventual separation, with Priscilla herself serving as an executive producer. By the end of the movie, Priscilla and Elvis's six-year marriage has come to a close, and the film's closing moments see Priscilla leaving her gilded cage of Graceland. The ending left many fans asking, what did Priscilla go on to do after separating from one of the most famous men in the world? Read on for a breakdown of what happened to Priscilla Presley after the end of Priscilla.
How old was Priscilla when she and Elvis separated?
As depicted in the film, Priscilla met Elvis in 1959 at a U.S. army base in Bad Nauheim, Germany, where both her father and the singer were stationed. Elvis was 24 at the time, while Priscilla was 14 and a freshman in high school. Despite their age difference, Priscilla and Elvis began a long-distance relationship for four years, before Priscilla moved into Elvis's Graceland estate in 1963. The couple got engaged in 1996, when Priscilla was 21 years old, and they married on May 1, 1967, at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. Soon after, they welcomed their only child, daughter Lisa Marie Presley, on February 1, 1968.
The couple were married for five years before they eventually separated in February 1972, and they finalized the divorce a year later. Both Elvis and Priscilla had extramarital affairs, with Priscilla admitting to a relationship with her former karate instructor, Mike Stone, in her memoir. According to People's report on the divorce settlement, Priscilla received $1.7 million plus $8,000 a month until 1983. Though their marriage did not last, the former couple remained close friends as they co-parented Lisa Marie. When the divorce was finalized, Priscilla was 27 years old.
What did Priscilla do for work after divorcing Elvis?
Years after her divorce, Priscilla Presley made a name for herself as an actress and media personality. She first appeared onscreen as the co-host of Those Amazing Animals in 1980 and 1981, and she went on to star in several shows and films throughout the '80s and '90s including Love Is Forever, The Fall Guy, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, Melrose Place, Touched by an Angel, and Spin City.
Her most well-known role is starring as Jenna Wade in later seasons of the iconic soap opera Dallas. Priscilla joined the show to assume the role of Jenna in the show's seventh season, and she went on to appear in 143 episodes before leaving the series in 1988. The actress appeared in fewer projects after the '90s. She was notable a contestant on Dancing with the Stars' sixth season in 2008, where she came in eighth place. Also, she has recently appeared as herself in the Hallmark Channel films Wedding at Graceland and Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays.
Did Priscilla ever remarry after Elvis?
After their separation, Priscilla and Elvis stayed on good terms up until the singer's death on August 16, 1977—a few years after the former couple's divorce. Though she had several relationships after Elvis, including flings with photographer Terry O'Neill and lawyer Robert Kardashian (yes, Kim, Khloé, and Kourtney's dad), Priscilla famously never remarried even after her ex-husband's untimely death. Upon the film's release, the actress spoke on her decision not to remarry, and seemingly confirmed a longstanding rumor that she made a vow to never marry again as long as Elvis was alive, per People.
“I just don't think that he could handle that,” she said during a QA at the South Point Casino in Las Vegas last week, speaking on the possibility of remarrying during Elvis's life span. “To be honest with you, I never wanted to marry after him. I never had any desire,” she added. “No one could ever match him.”
While Priscilla never remarried, she did have another child later in her life. She met screenwriter/computer programmer Marco Garibaldi in 1984, and they welcomed a son, Navarone Garibaldi, in March 1987. Priscilla and Marco stayed together until 2006.
