Did Elvis Have Illegitimate Children?

Tim Farrell

Tim Farrell of Jackson, Michigan, was born in the 1950s. He is a mechanic who grew up in a blended family, unaware that there was any possibility that he might have a famous father. After Elvis' death, however, Tim's mother came forward and claimed that Tim was conceived during a one-night stand she had with Elvis. This claim brought unwanted attention to Tim for more than twenty years.

His mother on her deathbed in 2002 told Tim again that Elvis was his father. After failed attempts to collect DNA for testing from the Presley estate, Tim appeared on a British television show "Dead Famous DNA" The show's producers claimed to have purchased a piece of Elvis' hair from his barber and tested that against Tim's DNA. The results showed that Tim was not Elvis' son.

Deborah Presley

Deborah Presley was born in 1956 to teen-aged parents who were high school sweethearts. As far as she knew, both her mother and father were her biological parents but in one interview, she says that she always felt like her biological father might be someone else.

She grew up hearing stories of how her mother had met Elvis in North Carolina during the 1950s but she never considered that the famous singer might actually be her father until someone mentioned that she greatly resembled him. She soon began to wonder and eventually asked her mother if Elvis Presley was her father. Deborah's mother said that he was.

In 1989, Deborah went to court to have herself named a legal heir of Elvis Presley. The court found that she was not Elvis' daughter and could not, therefore, claim any part of his estate. An appeals court, however, ruled that the prior ruling regarding paternity was invalid. The appeals court did not say that Deborah was definitively Elvis' daughter--only that there had not been enough evidence to rule that she couldn't be. The appeals court did agree that in either case, Deborah had no right to any part of Elvis' estate.

Desiree Presley

Desiree Presley is one of the more well-known names in the ever continuing saga of Elvis and his possible illegitimate children. She came into the limelight after her mother, Lucy de Barbin, wrote a book about her 24 year affair with the King of Rock and Roll--an affair that allegedly resulted in the birth of Desiree.

The factual veracity of the book (aptly named, Are You Lonesome Tonight?), has been called into question by both friends and fans of Elvis.

It is interesting to note that Desiree does resemble Elvis quite a bit. While that is certainly not proof of kinship, it is another factor to consider.