Priscilla Presley
Priscilla Presley is an actor, born 1945.
Priscilla Presley's public life began as somebody's wife, and most of what she has done since has been about controlling the terms of that. She was married to Elvis Presley from 1967 to 1973, and later co founded and chaired Elvis Presley Enterprises, the company that opened Graceland to the public as a museum. That decision, more than anything on her filmography, is why the estate still exists in a form anybody can visit.
The acting came afterwards. She joined the CBS soap Dallas as Jenna Wade and stayed from 1983 to 1988, and in 1988 she was cast as Jane Spencer opposite Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun. The joke of the casting was that she played it entirely straight, as though she were in a romantic comedy that happened to be on fire, and the films are funnier for it. She returned to the part in 1991 and 1994 and again in the 2025 revival, which means she has now played Jane Spencer across nearly four decades.
The rest is guest work and stewardship: Marie Paterno on Spin City, Colleen Sutton in The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, her own voice in the animated Agent Elvis, and appearances in Elvis documentaries including Return of the King. She is a better comic actor than she was ever given credit for, and a considerably better executive.
Movies (7)
TV (5)
Where to start with Priscilla Presley
Resist any urge to be chronological about the Elvis material. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! is the place to go. Presley's whole comic method is visible in it, which is to behave as though nothing unusual is happening while the film detonates around her, and it is the funniest entry in the series by a clear margin. The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear repeats the trick well, and Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult is where the formula tires, though she is not the reason.
The Naked Gun brings Jane back in 2025 for anyone who wants the loop closed. Outside the series, Dallas is the long haul option, five years of primetime soap, while Agent Elvis is the odd one, an animated series in which she voices herself. Spin City is a pleasant guest turn and nothing more.