Priscilla Presley’s life beyond Graceland revealed

Priscilla Presley’s life has unfolded across some of America’s most storied homes—from Graceland, the Memphis mansion she helped transform into a global landmark, to a secluded Italian-inspired villa in Beverly Hills where she lived for over forty years.

From Germany to Graceland

Her connection to Graceland began unexpectedly. In 1958, Elvis Presley was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed in West Germany. There, he met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu. Her stepfather, an Air Force captain, was also posted in the country. Elvis was 24 at the time.

After his discharge in 1960, the couple kept in touch across distances. Priscilla first visited Graceland in 1962, then moved to Memphis the next year. She initially stayed with Elvis’s parents but soon spent most of her time at the mansion. By 1967, they married in Las Vegas, with a reception held at the estate.

The 1939-built Classical Revival home, which Elvis purchased in 1957 for $102,500, originally measured 10,200 square feet. Renovations during his time there expanded it to 17,500 square feet, including a kidney-shaped swimming pool added shortly after the purchase.

A West Coast retreat

After their wedding, the couple bought a French Regency-style home in Los Angeles’ Trousdale Estates for $400,000. Priscilla and their daughter, Lisa Marie, were photographed there in 1970. The marriage, however, did not last. Elvis and Priscilla separated in 1972 and sold the house the following year. Their divorce was finalized in October 1973.

Priscilla soon found a new home—a two-acre Italian-inspired villa in Beverly Hills. She called it a place of seclusion, hidden behind dense foliage and gates. “It was a sanctuary for me,” she told Closer during a 2018 tour of the property. The villa featured tiled fountains, statues, and a courtyard fireplace with the inscription “Villa Nostra,” meaning “Our Home.”

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“When I had more family here, there was a cozy feeling, and that’s why I put ‘Villa Nostra,’” Priscilla told Closer in 2018. “It means ‘Our Home’ in Italian.”

Saving Graceland

Elvis died in 1977 at 42. By the early 1980s, the property was draining Elvis’s remaining funds. Lawyers advised selling it. “I just looked at them and said, ‘That’ll never happen, ever,’” she recalled. Instead, she turned it into a tourist attraction. The mansion opened to the public in 1982 and now attracts roughly 600,000 visitors each year. In 2006, it received National Historic Landmark status.

At the designation ceremony, Priscilla called Graceland “a tangible symbol of how far he had come from his very humble beginnings.” Decades later, she still takes pride in the choice. “I am most proud of the fact that Graceland became what it is today because I took a chance.”

The estate remains one of the most visited private residences in the U.S., second only to the White House. For Priscilla, it represents a legacy she preserved against the odds.

Her later years included a shift toward simpler living. The villa blends home and nature, but after decades there, she chose a more modest space.