He may be remembered for his incredible singing voice, but there’s no doubt Elvis Presley was quite the ladies’ man during his short 42 years of life. Although he married and settled down with Priscilla Presley until their divorce in 1973, there are several other celebrities the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll dated both before and after.
Despite his popularity among women, a friend of the late “Can’t Help Falling in Love” crooner revealed he wasn’t actually a womanizer. In fact, Michael St. John insisted the iconic performer “wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of guy,” he told Closer in a January 2020 interview. “He always seemed to be searching for a true love that just seemed to elude him,” the pal explained.
Elvis was such a smooth gentleman, he swooned women he wasn’t even romantically linked to. Cassandra Peterson — best known as her character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark — previously opened up about her “sort of date” with the “Blue Suede Shoes” singer. At a November 2019 event, Cassandra revealed their relationship remained platonic despite being completely smitten with Elvis.
“Oh, God, yeah. I was,” she reminisced to Closer, noting nothing happened between the two considering she was underage at the time. “I was a fan. I just found a movie, an 8mm movie, of me dancing to ‘Hound Dog’ when I was about 4 or 5 years old. I was a huge fan my whole life.”
While Elvis’ romances with other big Hollywood stars earned a lot of attention, Priscilla was the only starlet he walked down the aisle with. The pair became parents in 1968 when their daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, was born. She went on to become a singer, just like her famous father, and was the sole heir to his estate after his tragic passing.
The bestselling music artist and the businesswoman’s relationship was depicted in the 2022 biographical musical film, Elvis, directed by Baz Luhrmann. Though there have been many film adaptions based on Elvis’ life after his death, Priscilla offered nothing but praise for the Austin Butler-led movie.
“I’m sitting there watching this movie and going, ‘God, I wish he could see this,’” she told Good Morning America in June 2022 about the film. “It was perfection.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about Elvis’ relationships through the years.
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CMT Awards Priscilla Presley
Elvis and Priscilla met for the first time in 1959 after the then-teenager attended a party on a military base where both her father and Elvis were stationed in Germany. Despite having a 10-year age gap, Priscilla and Elvis couldn’t have hit if off any better.
In an interview with Closer in November 2017, Priscilla was gushing as she recalled meeting her one true love. “I’ll never forget it,” she divulged at the time, noting their relationship wasn’t easy in the beginning. “My father said, ‘Absolutely not!’” she remembered. “My mother said, ‘I won’t let you walk across the street to see Elvis Presley!’ I knew this was going to be a battle.”
In case you couldn’t tell, Priscilla and Elvis won that argument as she quickly moved into his Graceland estate in Tennessee in 1962. They tied the knot five years later in May 1967. Sadly, the couple divorced in 1973 but remained close friends up until his 1977 death.
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CMT Awards Ann-Margret
Elvis and his leading lady Ann-Margret may have played love interests in 1964’s Viva Las Vegas, but their romance didn’t end when the cameras stopped rolling. The former couple ended up having an affair as Elvis was with Priscilla. Although the Change of Habit star ended up choosing to be with the Dallas actress, Ann opened up about their passionate fling.
“It was a very strong relationship, very intense,” she wrote in her 1994 memoir Ann-Margret: My Story. “We both felt a current, an electricity that went straight through us,” she gushed, according to The New York Times. “It would become a force we couldn’t control.”
The Bye Bye Birdie actress previously opened up about their similar hobbies and interests. “We loved our families [and] we had a strong belief in God,” she recalled.
Ann-Margret and Elvis officially called it quits in 1964 and she went on to marry late husband Roger Smith in 1967.
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CMT Awards Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens also briefly dated Elvis. In a 2010 book titled Baby, Let’s Play House, the Hawaiian Eye actress got candid with author Alanna Nash about the one time she received a call from Elvis to go on a date. “I knew this was a fellow who could break your heart,” she said. “He was just so beautiful.” Despite only dating on and off for about two years, she boldly stated Elvis was “one of the loves of my life.”
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CMT Awards Cybill Shepherd
Although they didn’t date for too long, Cybill Shepherd was lucky enough to go out with Elvis. While making an appearance on Sway in the Morning in May 2016, the Moonlighting star opened up about their fun-filled dates. “He’s a really wonderful, sexy, incredible guy,” she gushed at the time.
“He’d rent one of the big theaters out until midnight,” she also once told Closer.
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CMT Awards Natalie Wood
Elvis first met actress Natalie Wood when he was 21 and she was 18. Although the former couple shared a whirlwind romance, it ended as quickly as it began. The Miracle on 34th Street star’s sister, Lana Wood, even told Closer Weekly all about the demise of their relationship.
According to Lana, Natalie was turned off by her relationship with the rock ‘n’ roll star after he brought her home to Memphis and introduced her to his parents, dad Vernon and mom Gladys. Apparently, the attempt to impress his parents was foiled after Natalie found Elvis’ close relationship with Gladys troubling.
“His mother said something like, ‘Come and sit on Mama’s lap,’” Lana once recalled to Closer Weekly. “They were very affectionate, and it bothered Natalie. She called and asked our mom to make up a story about why she had to come home.”
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CMT Awards Linda Thompson
Linda Thompson dated Elvis from 1972 to 1976. Although the Princes of Malibu actress eventually went on to marry Olympian Caitlyn Jenner and welcome kids Brandon Jenner, 38, and Brody Jenner, 36, Elvis made quite the mark on Linda’s life.
“He was my first love, the one who altered my life the most,” Linda once shared with Closer. “He was the first, and that’s always very special. Time and circumstances will express themselves no matter what you do.”
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CMT Awards Peggy Lipton
Peggy Lipton briefly dated Elvis in 1971, which she discusses in her 2005 autobiography, Breathing Out. In her memoir, the Twin Peaks star detailed her former romance with the hunky heartthrob.
“He kissed like a god, but that was about it,” she explained in her book. “He didn’t feel like a man next to me — more like a boy who’d never matured.”
Elvis and Anita Wood, who was also a performer, first began dating around 1957 and remained in a relationship until around 1962. Anita told the fan site Elvis Australia that, at the time they started seeing each other, she gave up a contract with Paramount Pictures after Elvis asked her to come back to Memphis.
However, things changed when Elvis returned home from Germany following the war. Elvis and Anita were over for good after the rock ‘n’ roller chose to be with Priscilla.
Can you believe Rita Moreno also dated Elvis?! The iconic West Side Story star opened up about her romance with the “Burning Love” singer in her 2013 memoir, Rita Moreno — A Memoir. In fact, Rita detailed their former relationship and revealed she was had an eight-year affair with Elvis to make Marlon Brando jealous. “I knew no one could possibly make Marlon Brando more jealous,” she wrote in her memoir.
Prior to his death, Elvis was engaged to fiancée Ginger Alden. While chatting with Closer about her quick fling with Elvis, the model gave fans a glimpse inside her romantic date nights with the Grammy winner.
“He wasn’t a candlelit dinner-for-two kind of guy,” Ginger once shared with Closer, noting her former future husband’s idea of a romantic night was a private serenade. “He loved to play the organ [while wearing] this great jeweled robe. To have him singing for me, that’s an image I will always have.”
Not only was Elvis doing nice things, but he was also buying nice things. “Elvis gave me three cars,” Ginger, who also received jewelry and fur coats from her beau, dished to Closer. “He loved to put a smile on someone’s face.”
Although Ginger thought she’d be with Elvis forever, she was there at Graceland when Elvis was found unconscious on his bathroom floor after suffering a cardiac arrest.
“A lot of people in Elvis’ life didn’t say no to him, and Elvis was used to getting his way,” Ginger once remembered. “I loved Elvis with all my heart and I knew deep down he was a good person. I don’t think anyone could have saved him on that particular morning.”