Lisa Marie Presley Lost the Will to Live After Son’s Death, Reveals Priscilla
By Shreya Mukherjee | Sep 18, 2025, 05:56 pm
Priscilla Presley, mother of the late singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley, recently opened up about her daughter’s heartbreaking struggle with grief following the tragic death of her son, Benjamin Keough.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Priscilla revealed that Lisa Marie was never the same after Keough’s suicide in 2020 at the age of 27. “He was absolutely the love of her life,” Presley shared. “She didn’t want to be here anymore [after his suicide].”
Maternal Concern
Priscilla, 80, explained how she frequently urged Lisa Marie to take care of her 16-year-old twins, Finley and Harper. “I’d tell her, ‘Lisa, you’ve got the twins. You have to take care of the twins.’ She tried. She really did,” she said.
Lisa Marie had Benjamin Keough and daughter Riley Keough with her ex-husband Danny Keough, and the twins with her other ex-husband, Michael Lockwood.
Heartbreaking Loss
Three years after the devastating loss of Benjamin, Lisa Marie passed away at the age of 54 due to a small bowel obstruction, which was a complication from bariatric surgery.
“It was the second saddest day of my life, other than losing Elvis [Presley, her father],” Priscilla expressed. She added that it took her a long time to come to terms with Lisa Marie’s death. “The family had been at the hospital all day long when we received the heartbreaking news of her passing.”
Tough Choice
In her memoir, Softly, as I Leave You: Life After Elvis, Priscilla revealed the difficult decision she faced in taking Lisa Marie off life support.
“They had restarted Lisa’s heart, but there was no guarantee it would keep beating,” she wrote. “I asked the doctor, ‘What kind of life will she have if we keep her on that machine?’ He looked at me with compassion and shook his head. ‘No quality of life at all.’”
Fond Memories
Despite the immense heartache, Priscilla chooses to remember the joyful moments she shared with her daughter. “She was fun to be with,” she recalled. “She liked to have a few drinks and hang out with friends.”
Priscilla also addressed the closeness she shared with Lisa Marie, noting that “there are a lot of people who didn’t want Lisa and me to be close. We were very close.”
Softly, as I Leave You: Life After Elvis will be published on September 23 and is currently available for preorder.