The mania for all things Elvis Presley clearly did not die with him, as evidenced by multiple recent biopics and the enduring obsession with his final resting place, Graceland. At the time of his death, the estate and the family shares of Elvis Presley Enterprises were worth $5 million; Vanity Fair reports that today that number is closer to $500 million. The abode at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in Memphis is a pilgrimage site, drawing in over 4,000 visitors a day during the height of its tourist season, per Graceland’s accounting. Presley purchased the property in 1957 for $102,500.
Following the January death of his only child, Lisa Marie Presley, and subsequent legal proceedings regarding the estate’s custody, Elvis’s granddaughter Riley Keough was granted sole ownership of Graceland. The rock-and-roll heir unpacked her childhood memories on the hallowed grounds in a new Vanity Fair interview for the magazine’s September cover.
Where they stayed during visits
Keough and her family would visit Graceland over Thanksgiving, but they did not stay at the legendary mansion. According to VF, they quartered at the property’s official hotel, and after the tourists left for the day, they would descend upon the main grounds to drive golf carts and hang out. Keough also revealed, “There were a few times that we slept [at Graceland],” though she thought twice about making that detail public (“…but I don’t know if I should say that”), as the second floor of the property is off-limits. Presley suffered his fatal heart attack there.
She hid on the grounds during public tours
While visitors were poring over the king’s opulent mansion, his rhinestoned costumes, and his gold records, Keough and crew stayed out of sight. “The tours would start in the morning, and we would hide upstairs until they were over,” Keough recalls. “The security would bring us breakfast. It’s actually such a great memory. We would order sausage and biscuits and hide until the tourists finished.”
Elvis’s staff was retained after his death
Much has been made about Elvis’s favorite food, the peanut butter and banana sandwich, but it stands to reason that even the most down-to-earth rock star would hire an expert culinary staff to enjoy some gourmet cooking. Apparently the chefs who prepared meals for the icon stayed on after his death, working on the estate and sometimes serving up comfort food to his descendants. “When Elvis’s chefs were alive, they used to still cook dinner for us, which was really special,” Keough told VF. “It was very Southern: greens and fried catfish and fried chicken and hush puppies. Cornbread and beans. Banana pudding.”
Will Priscilla be buried at Graceland?
As the question of who was to be Graceland’s new custodian played out in the courts, media reports swirled, speculating about potential succession drama between Keough and grandmother Priscilla Presley. The actor waved off rumors of familial discord, telling VF she doesn’t know why her grandmother wouldn’t be buried at Graceland.
“I don’t understand what the drama in the news was about,” Keough said. “Yeah. If she wants to be [buried at Graceland], of course. Sharing Graceland with the world was her idea from the start.” Keough discussed how the cherished childhood memories she has on the grounds are now tempered by the fact that it also serves as a burial ground for so many members of her family, several of whose lives were, like her grandfather’s, cut too short. Lisa Marie Presley was 54 years old; her son, Keough’s late brother Benjamin, died in 2020 at the age of 27.
“I always had positive and beautiful memories and association with Graceland,” Keough says. “Now, a lot of my family’s buried there, so it’s a place of great sadness at this point in my life.”
Though she’s now Graceland’s official steward, Keough is building her own legacy across the country in Hollywood. Still, shades of her Presley heritage shine through: She’s an Emmy nominee for her role in Daisy Jones and the Six, which sees her dominating the stage as a ’70s-era rockstar. She’s also a new mom to a baby girl—whose name, she revealed in the interview, is Tupelo, after Elvis’s birthplace.
