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Everyone knows Lisa Marie Presley’s famous parents Priscilla and Elvis Presley but what you may not have known about her is that she was a parent herself. When she passed on Jan. 12, 2023, the news was unexpected. Friends, family, and fans felt her loss deeply. It has affected many people in different ways, but undoubtedly no one more so than her children.
Lisa Marie was an interesting woman, but she was also a mother of four. Did she parent with love? And was she able to protect her kids from not becoming consumed by their grandfather’s fame?
Who Are Lisa Marie Presley’s Children?
Lisa Marie Presley was a mother to four children, her two oldest, Riley Keough and Benjamin Keough she had with her ex-husband, musician Danny Keough (they were married from 1988 to 1994). Later, she would marry her fourth husband, musician, and producer, Michael Lockwood, in 2006. They would divorce ten years later, but not before having two children together, Finley Aaron Love Lockwood, who was born on Oct. 7, 2008, and her twin sister, Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood.
Sadly, Benjamin passed in 2020, which devastated Presley, but she is survived by her three daughters. In fact, it was because of them that she kept going. She said as much in a post she shared with People Magazine in honor of National Grief Awareness Day. “It’s a real choice to keep going, one that I have to make every single day and one that is constantly challenging, to say the least…” she wrote. Her pain and strength are unimaginable.
What Was Lisa Marie Presley’s Children’s Upbringing Like?
Lisa Marie Presley has given interviews about her children, and her comments have made it clear they meant a lot to her. Her household was one that had no shortage of love. And her approach to parenting was to ensure their happiness and make them feel special.
She told Healthy Living in 2014 that her priority in life was her children. She also described their family unit as being very “normal” – probably not a description many would expect to hear from her, considering the pressure from the media and the constant interest that surrounded her life. Yet this is something she wanted for her children. To live in a family that was as normal as possible.
“We are just very normal,” she said. “I have two older children… and then the two little ones. We all stay together. We are all very close. Wherever I am they have their rooms and live with me. We all try to stay close as much as possible. Like in the same room, preferably for me.”
Presley also referred to herself as “very protective,” adding, “I just smother them in love, and I am also ferociously protective. They are my priority. That’s what I do. That’s what I care most about. I keep them close to me and make sure they are happy and healthy.”
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Is this not something that every mother wants for their children? For them to be happy and healthy? Presley described herself as their best friend but also their mother, and was thrilled with how close the bond they all shared was. Even when her older children were not home, they stayed in constant contact, communicating via technology. “None of us are happy if we haven’t seen each other past a week or two. It’s just a normal family,” Presley said.
Lisa Marie’s comments bare a striking resemblance to something she said about her own father in a documentary (via Entertainment Tonight). “He was very protective, very adoring, very watchful,” she said. “I knew that I was loved. There was no doubt about that. It was something that was easy to come by, honestly, but it was very apparent to me.”
Was Family Important To Lisa Marie Presley?
Letting her children grow up without being shadowed by their grandfather’s fame was something that Lisa Marie Presley wanted for them. We know this because People Magazine reports that Riley Keough never felt like she was “living in the shadow of her famous grandfather.” This allowed her to choose her own path and make a career for herself as an actress.
Finley Aaron Love Lockwood and Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood are too young to give interviews to the media and there is less known about their lives. Apart from a few events, they have mostly stayed out of the limelight – this could change when they are older, and they may wish to pursue a path in the entertainment industry. What we do know is that their parent’s divorce was bitter, and they lived with their grandmother, Priscilla, while the situation between their parents had to be worked out. But things did get easier for them and the issues were resolved.
Page Six reports that Michael Lockwood released a statement to The Post, via his lawyer Joe Yanny, after Lisa Marie’s passing. It read:´”Michael had been hoping for a speedy and complete recovery because her children needed her. It is very sad it didn’t turn out that way. Michael’s world has been turned on its ear. He is with both of his daughters now.”
The well-being of children is something that Presley was passionate about and in the same interview with Healthy Living, she spoke about her philanthropy. “My charities are typically always ones aimed at helping children,” she told the publication. “As far as charitable foundations specifically, we built a housing project in Memphis because of my father. I actually lived in one of them when he was younger, and it was his sort of dream to build a thing like this. It’s called Presley Place.”
She explained that the housing project was used for families who were down on their luck, letting them spend time there while they got their lives together. They could also learn skills and be trained, which would have a lasting impact on their future.
It was not just her own family that Lisa Marie Presley was concerned for, but also for those who were less fortunate. But she did consider the wellbeing of her children in her will as it has been reported that she left her trust to her three daughters. According to People Magazine, the trust includes Elvis Presley’s Graceland property “and 15 percent ownership of Elvis’ estate.”
