In 1959, Priscilla Beaulieu was a high school Air Force brat high whose father was stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany. Around that time, the 14-year-old attended a house gathering, where she would meet a charming 24-year-old soldier — and her eventual husband — named Elvis Presley.
Now, the actress and ex-wife of “The King” is getting a Sofia Coppola (”Lost in Translation”) biopic produced by film house A24.
Priscilla will be played by Cailee Spaeny (”Pacific Rim Uprising”), while Jacob Elordi (”Euphoria”) will take on the role of Elvis.
Priscilla Ann Presley, now 78, has an extensive history of military connections. In addition to marrying Elvis, who served in the Army from 1958 to 1960, her adoptive father and biological father both served.
“[T]he man I had always called Daddy — Capt. Joseph Paul Beaulieu — had actually adopted me after his marriage to my mother, Ann [Iversen],” she told People Magazine in 1985. “My real father, Lt. James Wagner, a Navy pilot, had been killed in a plane crash when I was 6 months old.”
The Presleys married in 1967, had a daughter, Lisa Marie, in 1968, and divorced in 1973. Elvis died in 1977 from a heart attack. The former couple’s daughter also passed away this past January.
“Nothing in my upbringing could have prepared me for our life,” Priscilla said. “When we met, I was an impressionable 14 years old. He was 24. I was an insecure Air Force brat, unhappily accustomed to moving from base to base,” she wrote.
The trailer for the movie paints a picture of a young girl swept up in the chaos of rock n’ roll fame. Coppola’s signature style has also been deployed, which utilizes music in place of dialogue — with panning shots complemented by dramatic colors.
“Priscilla” is expected to hit theaters in October.
Sarah Sicard is a Senior Editor with Military Times. She previously served as the Digitial Editor of Military Times and the Army Times Editor. Other work can be found at National Defense Magazine, Task & Purpose, and Defense News.
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