Since he was The King of Rock and Roll, it makes total sense that the late Elvis Presley dated a lot of women before he died in 1977. Best known for his hit songs “Jailhouse Rock,” “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Hound Dog,” the singer was married once, had one child and had several different girlfriends. We dive deep into all of his relationships with people like Priscilla Presley, Ginger Alden, Ann-Margret and many more below!
Rita Moreno (1950s)
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Emmy, Oscar, Grammy and Tony (EGOT) winner Rita Moreno shared that at some point in the 1950’s she and Presley dated “several times” in an effort to make her then-boyfriend, Marlon Brando, jealous. “I knew no one could possibly make Marlon Brando more jealous,” the actress wrote in her 2011 book Rita Moreno: A Memoir. Despite this, though, Moreno found Presley “boring,” and the relationship soon fizzled out.
June Juanico (1955 to 1956)
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Very few people get the chance to date their celebrity crushes. However, that certainly wasn’t the case for June Juanico. After meeting Presley in 1955, the two began dating but were soon torn apart by his rising fame.
“[His manager] Colonel Tom Parker wanted him linked with actresses and Vegas showgirls. Of course, Elvis liked legs that went on for days, and he brought one of those showgirls home for Christmas in ’56,” Juanico said in 1997. “That did it for me. I decided to marry someone else.”
Juanico is currently 86 years old and has since released a book entitled Elvis: In the Twilight of Memory.
Natalie Wood (1956)
The late Natalie Wood dated Presley very briefly in 1956 after being introduced by Dennis Hopper.
“[They went] to the movies, he bought out the theater,” Natalie’s sister, Lana, said in 2018. “That’s not what she was used to.”
Despite all of the wooing, Lana claimed that Presley’s relationship with his mother, Gladys, created a lot of problems between Natalie and Presley.
“His mother said something like, ‘Come and sit on Mama’s lap,’” Lana said. “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.”
Anita Wood (1957 to 1962)
After seeing actress Anita Wood perform on the hit show Top 10 Dance Party in 1957, she and Presley dated for five years before Wood called it off so he could go and be with Priscilla Presley—who he met in 1959.
“I said [to him], ‘I’m gonna make that decision for you…I’m leaving,'” Wood said. “I say that was probably the most difficult decision that I’ve ever made in my life. I have to say that. After having dated someone like Elvis for five years and as close as we were for this to end, and when I left, I knew there would be no going back.”
Wood died in 2023 at age 85.
Priscilla Presley (1959 to 1973)
Presley’s most famous relationship was with none other than his wife, Priscilla Presley—formerly Wagner. The two met at a party in Germany in 1959, and at the time, he was 24 and she was 14.
“I remember when I set eyes on him, he was just so kind, so authentic,” Priscilla said in 2014. “I was just a teenager at the time, and I was in Germany, he was signing autographs. I just thought how he was the real deal.”
Shortly after the meeting, Presley was removed from his station in Germany and desperate to be together, Priscilla followed him to America shortly after.
They married in 1967, when she was 21 and he was 32, and welcomed one child together—a daughter named Lisa Marie Presley—in 1968.
Despite their love and child, Presley was rumored to be unfaithful, and that, combined with his drug addiction, eventually led to them going their separate ways in 1972 before divorcing the next year.
“I did not divorce him because I didn’t love him,” Priscilla said in 2019. “He was the love of my life, truly. If anything, I left because I needed to find out what the world was like.”
Priscilla is still alive to this day and can often be found with granddaughter Riley Keough or talking about her time with Presley.
“He was such an impact in my life in every way,” Priscilla said in 2017. ”He was my mentor; he was my confidant. I wrote this in my book [Elvis and Me]. He was everything. In my book, I wrote, ‘My God,’ because I lived and breathed him.”
Connie Stevens (1960s)
As mentioned above, Presley had a lot of affairs during his marriage to Priscilla, and one of them was with actress Connie Stevens. When exactly they dated remains a mystery, but it is widely believed to have been in the 1960s.
“I knew this was a fellow who could break your heart. He was just so beautiful,” Stevens said. “He was one of the loves of my life. I could have spent a lifetime with him, but I knew it was never to be.”
Stevens is currently 86 years old and has been married twice.
Anne Helm (1962)
Another person Presley had an affair with was an actress named Anne Helm. They met while filming Follow That Dream (1962); however, Helm didn’t confirm the romance rumors until after Presley died.
“I really fell for Elvis. I mean, who wouldn’t?” Helms said. “As much as Elvis was a celebrity, he was a big kid; he was a lot of fun.”
The pair eventually fizzled out after filming ended, and Helm went on to get married twice. She is currently 86 years old.
Ann-Margret (1964)
Presley seemed to have a thing for co-stars because, in 1964, he also dated his Viva Las Vegas counterpart, Ann-Margret.
“We both felt a current, an electricity that went straight through us,” Margret wrote in her 1994 memoir Ann-Margret: My Story. “It would become a force we couldn’t control.”
The force was soon controlled, though, because of Presley’s marriage to Priscilla—which Margret reportedly never talked about in her book.
Margaret was married to actor Roger Smith from 1967 until he died in 2017. They had three children together.
Peggy Lipton (1970s)
Peggy Lipton is an actress best known for the television series The Mod Squad (1968 to 1973) and Twin Peaks (1989 to 1991), but before she found fame on the small screen, she found herself in the arms of the king of rock and roll at some point in the 1970s.
According to Lipton, Presley “kissed like a god” but had troubles in the bedroom, which eventually led to their split.
“It just didn’t happen for him. We tried a few more times and nothing ever happened, so I just let it go.”
Lipton died in 2019 from colon cancer. She was 72.
Sally Struthers (1970s)
At some point in the 1970s, Presley also dated actress Sally Struthers.
“He was so polite and so kind and soft-hearted that you just couldn’t believe anybody that was that beautiful had never caught on that they were beautiful and gotten obsessed with themselves,” Struthers said. “He was just all about kindness to everyone, which is pretty great.”
Eventually, the two went their separate ways, and Struthers married a psychiatrist named William C. Rader in 1977. They divorced in 1983 and has remained single ever since.
Barbara Leigh (1970 to 1972)
Presley had a secret affair with actress Barbara Leigh for two years.
“I never believed that I was the only girlfriend,” Leigh said in 2023. “I accepted Elvis for the time we spent together. I was lucky enough to share with him and I never asked him any questions, and he did likewise.”
“We didn’t ask any questions about other relationships because we knew what the answer would be. I took the bad with the good.”
As of publication, Leigh is 78 years old and single.
Cybill Shepherd (1972)
Cybill Shepherd and Presley had a short and sweet affair in 1972, which ended due to his drug addiction.
“Somebody called and said, ‘Elvis wants to go out with you,’ and I said, ‘Have Elvis call me himself,'” Shepherd said in 2012. “We started dating, and he’s a really wonderful, sexy, incredible guy.”
Shepherd has been married twice, has three children, and is 74 years old.
Linda Thompson (1972 to 1976)
Following his split with Priscilla, Presley dated songwriter and actress Linda Thompson from 1972 to 1976 after meeting him in Memphis, Tennessee.
“I was still a virgin when I met him,” Thompson said in 2016. “I think that is what added to the allure of me for him, because he was a very territorial man. And a very jealous man. It really made him feel wonderful that I was a virgin.”
Much like his other relationships, this one also came to an end due to Presley’s infidelity and drug use.
Thompson then went on to marry twice more—once to Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner. She has two kids and is 74 years old.
Sheila Ryan (1973 to 1975)
Sheila Ryan reportedly dated Presley from 1973 until 1975 while he was still with Thompson.
“The first time I met Elvis, I was in Las Vegas and [Presley’s manager] Joe Esposito brought me backstage. He came out of the dressing room and there was a waiting room,” Ryan said. “He came out and had this towel wrapped around his neck, and there were maybe 30 people in the room, and he walks out, and the first thing that happens is our eyes meet. And everyone noticed that, particularly the girl that he was seeing at the time. It was just sort of that once-in-a-lifetime magical thing.”
The reason for the couple’s separation remains unclear, but in the same year, they reportedly split after Ryan married actor James Caan. They remained together until 1977, and Ryan never remarried.
Mindi Miller (1975 to 1976)
Supermodel Mindi Miller revealed that she and Presley dated after he invited her over to his house in 1975.
“We found that we had an awful lot in common, and the entire night, we never stopped talking,” Miller said in 2021.
Sadly, they went their separate ways after just a year because Miller had to return to Italy. She is 74 years old.
Ginger Alden (1976 to 1977)
Presley’s last relationship was with actress and model Ginger Alden. They began dating in 1976 and quickly got engaged despite the 21-year age difference between them. They remained together until the singer died in 1977, and since then, Alden has talked very openly and honestly about her time with Presley.
“I remember Lisa coming into Elvis’ bedroom one evening, sitting on his bed, and as she stared at the television, he tapped me silently behind her,” Alden continued. “‘She has the same look in her eyes as me,’ he said. That look is not far away from her father’s now.”
After Presley’s death, Alden married Ronald Leyser from 1991 until his death in 2015. She also released a book entitled Elvis and Ginger: Elvis Presley’s Fiancée and Last Love Finally Tells Her Story in 2014.
