ELVIS PRESLEY’S PRIVATE ROMANCE: THE MISS GEORGIA WHO RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE KING — AND A FLIGHT ON HIS LEARJET
What if one of Elvis Presley’s most fascinating romances began with nothing more than a taxi ride, a chance encounter outside Graceland, and a stranger saying, “Hey… are you from here?”
This incredible story comes directly from Diana Goodman, the former Miss Georgia who found herself swept into Elvis Presley’s extraordinary world in the mid-1970s. Her story is not simply about dating the King of Rock ’n’ Roll. It is about unexpected meetings, private airplanes, secret emotions, glamorous concerts, jealousy, heartbreak, and a relationship that would remain in her heart for decades.
Diana was born in the small Georgia town of Alma and grew up near Atlanta. Before meeting Elvis, she had already begun building a career for herself. She became an Atlanta Falcons cheerleader, attended Georgia State University, pursued modeling and acting, and eventually entered the Miss Georgia pageant twice. After finishing as first runner-up the first time, she returned the following year determined to win.
And she did.
In 1975, Diana Goodman became Miss Georgia.
That title opened doors into modeling and entertainment—and one assignment would unexpectedly place her in Memphis.
While riding in a taxi from the airport, Diana was told something that immediately caught her attention: Elvis Presley was in town.
The driver took her past Graceland.
What happened next sounds almost unbelievable.
Diana stopped near the gates and suddenly found herself being invited inside by Elvis’s uncle, Vester Presley. She was allowed through the gate and eventually taken toward the mansion. Inside Graceland, she walked through rooms that Elvis fans around the world would later know intimately—including the famous Jungle Room.
Then came another revelation.
Elvis was actually upstairs.
He was reportedly taking a nap.
Diana never expected what happened later that night. She was asked if she wanted to go to the movies—and before long, she was spending the entire night with Elvis at the Memphian, watching movies until morning.
But the story became even more extraordinary.
Afterward, Elvis asked one of his associates to get Diana’s phone number and address because he wanted to call her and take her on a date.
Then Diana waited.
And waited.
Eventually, believing Elvis might never call, she left Memphis and traveled to California to pursue her career.
That should have been the end of the story.
It wasn’t.
While Diana was in California, her mother told her that some man kept calling the house claiming to be Elvis. Diana immediately realized what had happened. Unfortunately, several calls had already been hung up.
Then the phone rang again.
This time, it really was Elvis.
“Hey baby, this is Elvis.”
Diana later described essentially melting into a puddle when she heard his voice.
Within minutes, Elvis invited her to meet him in New York.
And he wasn’t sending her on an ordinary commercial flight.
He was sending his private Learjet.
Diana had only minutes to prepare. She rushed around throwing clothes into a suitcase, jumped into the shower—and when the chauffeur arrived, her hair was still in curlers.
That surreal journey became the beginning of an unforgettable chapter.
Diana eventually joined Elvis on the road, attended his concerts, traveled with his entourage, and experienced a side of Elvis that few ordinary fans could ever see. She sat close enough during performances that Elvis could see her from the stage and occasionally tossed her stuffed animals and gifts.
But behind the glamour was something much more complicated.
Elvis wanted companionship. He wanted someone who could be with him despite the extraordinary demands of his life. Diana, however, was a young woman with ambitions of her own. She needed a career. She needed a life outside Elvis.
And that tension would eventually become impossible to ignore.
When Elvis was hospitalized and communication became increasingly difficult, Diana sent flowers, books, and messages through people close to him. She believed there would be another reunion.
But then another woman entered the picture.
Ginger Alden.
Diana began to realize that the relationship she had hoped might continue was slipping away.
Then came the devastating news in August 1977.
Elvis Presley was dead.
Diana was in California when her sister called and told her to turn on the news.
She broke down.
Because unlike many people who mourned Elvis from afar, Diana wasn’t grieving merely a superstar. She was grieving a man she had known personally—a man who had held her hand, spoken to her privately, invited her onto his private jet, and promised that they would see each other again.
She didn’t even make it to his funeral.
For years, she couldn’t watch Elvis movies or listen to his music without reopening the wound.
Eventually, Diana rebuilt her life. She pursued television and entertainment, including appearances on Hee Haw, married, raised three sons, and stepped away from show business for a time.
But Elvis never completely disappeared from her heart.
Years later, she finally found a way to confront those memories and put them where they belonged—not erase them, but preserve them.
Her story became part of her legacy in the book Hollywood Lights, Nashville Nights, giving Elvis fans a rare glimpse into the private world surrounding the King during the final years of his life.
Perhaps the most shocking part of Diana Goodman’s story isn’t the private jet, the Graceland visit, or the midnight movie dates.
It is the fact that a seemingly random trip to Memphis changed the course of her life forever.
One taxi ride.
One unexpected conversation.
One invitation through the gates of Graceland.
One unforgettable voice on the telephone.
And a relationship with Elvis Presley that ended far too soon.
For millions of fans, Elvis was a superstar.
For Diana Goodman, he was something much more complicated.
He was the man who once said, “Hey baby, this is Elvis.”
And decades later, those words still carried the power to bring an entire chapter of her life rushing back.
