Presley’s spoiled youth
Because Elvis spoiled his only child, her mother felt obligated to act as disciplinarian.
Lisa Marie Presley always was a daddy’s girl, said Danny Scott in The Sunday Times (U.K.). When she visited Graceland, Elvis lavished attention on his only child. “There was no schedule with my father,” says Lisa Marie, 44. “No rules. I loved it! Anything I wanted, I just had to ask.” Because Elvis spoiled his daughter, her mother, Priscilla, felt obligated to act as disciplinarian. “She was strict and regimented, and I hated it. She made me go to school, do my homework. And the more she clamped down, the worse I got.” Lisa Marie ramped up her rebellion after Elvis died, in 1977, and spent her teenage years taking drugs and running wild, much to her mother’s distress. “We were like oil and water. As far as I was concerned, she was a stop sign and it was my job to run her over.” This fractious relationship continued until Lisa Marie was well into her 30s. “It was only then that I [realized] how much she’d cared for me,” she says. “Dad was always my friend, and I wanted Mom to be my friend too, but she was being my mother. Now I realize I needed someone to say, ‘No!’ Looking back, it was Mom who kept me grounded, it was Mom who really kept me sane.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Music reviews: Bon Iver, Valerie June, and The Waterboys
Feature "Sable, Fable," "Owls, Omens, and Oracles," "Life, Death, and Dennis Hopper"
By The Week US
-
Are bonds worth investing in?
the explainer They can diversify your portfolio and tend to be a safer investment than stocks
By Becca Stanek, The Week US
-
Elon has his 'Legion.' How will Republicans encourage other Americans to have babies?
Today's Big Question The pronatalist movement finds itself in power
By Joel Mathis, The Week US