Between 1960 and 1962, Priscilla Beaulieu lived a mostly long-distance relationship with Elvis Presley while navigating her teenage years in West Germany. After meeting Elvis in late 1959, this specific two-year period marked their transition from an in-person courtship to a highly anticipated reunion in America.
In March 1960, Elvis Presley completed his military service and left West Germany to return to the United States. At the time of his departure, 14-year-old Priscilla was still a student in Wiesbaden. Her style during this period was inherently youthful and natural. She wore her hair in its natural lighter brown shade, often tied back in a casual ponytail or cut with classic teenage bangs, wearing little to no makeup.
After Elvis left, Priscilla faced a period of relative isolation. Swarmed by reporters at school asking about her relationship, she was convinced the romance was over. However, communication continued through sporadic, late-night long-distance phone calls from Elvis.
After months of minimal contact, Elvis called Priscilla in early 1962 and invited her to visit him in Los Angeles during her summer break. This visit marked a massive turning point in her personal transformation. During this trip, Elvis began actively influencing her aesthetic, encouraging her to play up her features. Priscilla began experimenting with a bolder, more mature look, darkening her hair toward a richer, raven-black shade and teasing it into the early iterations of her signature voluminous, high-climbing 1960s bouffant.
She started leaning heavily into the “mod glam” era, introducing dramatic, flawlessly flicked black liquid cat-eye liner and thick false eyelashes that defined her striking, doll-like gaze. Elvis took her on a trip to Las Vegas, breaking the strict itinerary her parents had agreed to. To keep up with Elvis’s entirely nocturnal lifestyle, she was introduced to prescription sleeping pills and amphetamines.
By the end of 1962, following a subsequent visit to Graceland at Christmas, Priscilla’s parents finally agreed to let her permanently relocate to Memphis in early 1963 to finish her high school education at an all-girls Catholic school, setting the stage for her full-time immersion into Elvis’s world.
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