Introduction
The King’s Parallel Loves: The Passion of Ann-Margret and the Molding of Priscilla
Of all the women who revolved around Elvis Presley, two relationships defined his legacy in the public imagination. One was a sizzling, short-lived affair with his “female incarnation,” Ann-Margret Olsen. The other was his carefully orchestrated, long-term romance with his only wife, Priscilla Beaulieu. Together, these two dynamics captured the world’s imagination and exposed the deep contradictions of the King of Rock and Roll.
A Sizzling Match: Elvis and Ann-Margret
When director George Sidney introduced Elvis to Ann-Margret on the set of the 1964 film Viva Las Vegas, the chemistry was instant and undeniable. The media frequently dubbed Ann-Margret the female version of Elvis due to her magnetic charisma, immense musical talent, and raw sex appeal.
In her 1994 memoir My Story, Ann-Margret revealed that their affair felt like an inevitability. They were mirror images: shy on the outside, unbridled and wild within, and both prone to self-destruction.
“We were soulmates,” she wrote, noting their shared childlike emotional dependency despite their meteoric fame.
However, they were arguably too similar for Elvis’s conservative, old-school ideals regarding marriage and gender roles. Ann-Margret was fiercely career-focused and assertive, leading to professional clashes on set. Furthermore, Elvis was already engaged. Knowing the romance could not last, both stars “pumped the brakes” after a year of dating, and Elvis stopped returning her calls to fulfill his marital obligations.
Priscilla’s Fury and the Germany Roots
Back at Graceland, an 18-year-old Priscilla was eagerly awaiting their wedding. Though aware of Elvis’s wandering eye, she felt uniquely threatened by Ann-Margret. In her 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, Priscilla recalled a fit of fiery rage where she hurled a flower vase across the room upon learning the truth. Infuriated, Elvis briefly considered shipping her back to Germany, but his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, pressured him to move forward with the wedding. Elvis and Priscilla eventually married in Las Vegas in 1967.
The roots of Priscilla’s relationship with Elvis were vastly different from his passionate tryst with Ann-Margret. They had met in West Germany in 1959, when Elvis was a 24-year-old soldier and Priscilla was just a 14-year-old ninth-grader.
Shaping the Ideal Partner
By modern standards, their initial age gap is startling, but to Elvis, Priscilla’s youth was an opportunity. He famously noted a striking resemblance between Priscilla and his late mother, Gladys, and admitted to friends that she was young enough that he could “train her any way he wanted.”
[1959: West Germany] -> Elvis (24) meets Priscilla (14)
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[1962: Los Angeles/Vegas Trip] -> Priscilla introduced to adult clothing, makeup, and “night owl” pills
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[1963: Graceland Move-In] -> Priscilla finishes school in Memphis under Elvis’s control
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[1967: Las Vegas Wedding] -> Relationship is consummated after marriage
Elvis systematically molded Priscilla into his ideal companion. When she visited him in the U.S., he transformed her look with adult clothing, heavy makeup, and a dyed, amplified hairstyle to suit his tastes. She even began taking uppers and downers to keep up with his erratic night-owl schedule.
While Priscilla initially accepted this control, she grew to demand autonomy over her own life as she matured. Though their storybook romance resulted in marriage and a child, the cracks in the foundation—widened by the shadows of past affairs and control dynamics—ultimately led to their separation and eventual divorce in 1973.