Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of legendary performer Elvis Presley and a singer in her own right, died from "a known long-term complication" of weight-loss surgery, a Los Angeles County Medical Examiner report said.
On the morning of January 12, Presley had reportedly complained of abdominal pain, and sometime later that day, she was found unresponsive by a housekeeper in a home she had been sharing with ex-husband Danny Keough. She was rushed to the hospital but died shortly thereafter. She was just 54 years old.
In the autopsy report released Thursday, deputy medical examiner Dr. Juan M. Carrillo claimed Presley died from a "sequelae of a small bowel obstruction," a build-up of scar-like tissue that "developed after bariatric surgery years ago." Bariatric surgery is another term for weight-loss surgery. When Presley underwent the bariatric procedure is unknown.
According to Dr. Carrillo, a bowel obstruction is a common long-term complication of weight-loss surgery. Therefore, Carrillo determined, her manner of death was "natural."
Lisa Marie Presley was the only child born to Elvis and Priscilla Presley, who divorced in 1973 after six tumultuous years of marriage. Elvis infamously died from cardiac arrest four years later, when he was 42, after a long history of drug use and weight issues.
Lisa Marie married four times. She shocked the world in 1994 when news broke that she had married another music icon, Michael Jackson, and she even appeared in Jackson's video for the song "You Are Not Alone." However, at the MTV Video Music Awards later that year, the couple shared a very awkward embrace that signaled trouble, and they divorced in less than two years.
Michael Jackson Lisa Marie Presley 1994 MTV Video Music Award Opening (Kiss)www.youtube.com
Presley also had a short marriage to actor Nicolas Cage. She had two longer marriages to Keough, with whom she had son Benjamin and daughter Riley Keough, and Michael Lockwood, with whom she had twin daughters Harper and Finley Lockwood. Benjamin Keough died by suicide in 2020.
Between 2003 and 2018, Lisa Marie released three albums: "To Whom It May Concern," "Now What," and "Storm & Grace." She also founded and was heavily involved in the Presley Charitable Foundation, which has since evolved into charities intended to help various groups, including the homeless and those studying the arts. Just days before she died, Presley attended the Golden Globe Awards and witnessed Austin Butler win the award for best actor for his performance as her late father in the hit film "Elvis," which also starred Tom Hanks.
Following her death, her mother, Priscilla, released a heartbreaking statement. "It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us," the statement read in part. "She was the most passionate strong and loving woman I have ever known. We ask for privacy as we try to deal with this profound loss. Thank you for the love and prayers."
Within days, Priscilla Presley went to court to contest a will that removed her as trustee and replaced her with Lisa Marie's daughters. Priscilla and Riley Keough, now a 34-year-old actress and the sole trustee of Lisa Marie's estate, reached an undisclosed settlement in May.
Lisa Marie Presley and Benjamin Keough are both buried near Elvis Presley in the famous Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee.
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