MUM'S THE WORD
Who was Elvis’ mother Gladys Presley?
YOU'D be hard to find anyone in the world who didn't know who Elvis Presley was.
But little is known about the woman who raised the superstar, his mum Gladys.
Who was Gladys Presley?
Elvis' mother was born Gladys Love Smith on April 25, 1912.
She was the daughter of a cotton farmer, and in the 1930s she met her future husband Vernon Presley at church.
As she was 21 at the time, she was four years older than him as he was only 17.
Because he was underage, they lied about their ages in order to get married in 1933.
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Two years later, Gladys gave birth to Elvis on January 8, 1935.
However, tragedy occurred during the birth, as she had been expecting twins, but the first boy, Jesse Garon Presley, was stillborn.
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How did Gladys die?
In August 1958, Elvis Presley’s mother became seriously ill.
The singer was actually serving in the US Army at the time, and was stationed in Germany, but was allowed home to see her, and thankfully arrived just in time.
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On August 14, 1958, Gladys Presley died, aged just 46.
The cause of death was a heart attack, and it was later discovered that one of the contributing factors was liver failure due to alcohol poisoning.
What did Elvis say about his mother?
After she died, Elvis said: “It broke my heart. She was always my best girl.”
At the funeral, the singer collapsed on the coffin and cried: ”Please don’t take my baby away! She’s not dead. She’s just sleeping.”
When his mother's body went into the ground, he said: “Goodbye, darling. I love you so much.
"I lived my whole life just for you. Oh, God, everything I have is gone!”
His close friends have said how he changed after Gladys’s death, and never really got over it.
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Elvis’s own death occurred nearly exactly 19 years later, as he died on August 16, 1977.
He and his parents are buried side by side at his Graceland mansion.
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