SHE WAS ONLY FIVE WHEN ELVIS PRESLEY PICKED HER UP — THEN SHE DID SOMETHING NO ONE EXPECTED
For most Elvis Presley fans, meeting the King would have been a once-in-a-lifetime dream. But for five-year-old Margaret Anne Hollis, that dream became real on the platform of a Dallas train station — and somehow, she ended up in Elvis’s arms.
Then she kissed him.
The remarkable moment was captured by a Dallas Morning News photographer, creating a photograph that would eventually become one of those forgotten pieces of Elvis history waiting decades to be rediscovered.
The story began in 1960, shortly after Elvis had completed his two-year military service. Presley was traveling by train from Memphis to Los Angeles, where he was scheduled to begin work on G.I. Blues. The journey would take roughly two days, but one brief stop in Dallas created a memory that would survive for generations.
Elvis made a short stop at Dallas Union Station, where approximately 30 excited fans had gathered hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
Among them was a five-year-old girl named Margaret Anne Hollis.
Margaret, known as Margie, arrived at the station with her mother, Margaret Howard. They positioned themselves toward the back of the crowd, surrounded by screaming Elvis fans.
Margie was too small to see over everyone, so her mother lifted her onto her shoulders.
Then Elvis appeared.
The crowd erupted.
For a little girl, the scene must have been overwhelming. Yet when Elvis came close, something extraordinary happened. He reached out and took Margie into his arms.
Her mother was surprised.
Margie was normally shy around strangers and did not willingly go to unfamiliar people. But Elvis seemed different. Instead of pulling away, the little girl went willingly into his arms.
And then, in a moment that a photographer happened to capture forever, Margie leaned toward Elvis and kissed him on the cheek.
It was a tiny gesture.
But decades later, that photograph would send Elvis fans around the world searching for the little girl who had kissed the King.
For years, the picture simply remained in the Dallas Morning News archives.
Then, decades later, photo editor Guy Reynolds discovered it while searching for another photograph. He realized the image was far too fascinating to remain forgotten.
He wrote about it online and posed a simple question:
Where was Margaret Anne Hollis?
The search quickly spread beyond Dallas. Elvis fans around the world became interested in finding the little girl from the photograph. The story attracted attention from major media outlets, including NPR and The Atlantic.
Eventually, the mystery was solved.
Margaret Anne Hollis was no longer the five-year-old girl standing among screaming fans at Union Station. She was an adult woman carrying a memory from one extraordinary morning in 1960.
And what she remembered was not simply what Elvis looked like.
She remembered how he made her feel.
She remembered his eyes.
When Elvis looked at someone, she said, there was something about his gaze that made you feel as though you were truly being seen.
But perhaps the most unforgettable detail was something far more personal.
After Elvis handed her back to her mother, little Margie reportedly said:
“Oh, Mom, he smelled so good.”
Even as an adult, Hollis could still remember Elvis’s scent. She could not precisely describe it, except that there was something slightly sweet about it.
She also remembered that Elvis was handsome, but she struggled to explain exactly what made him so captivating.
There was simply “something” about him.
For Margie, the encounter lasted only moments.
But emotionally, it seemed to freeze time.
She remembered Elvis as kind. She remembered being in his arms. She remembered kissing him — and Elvis kissing her.
And then came the reaction that perfectly captures just how magical the moment felt to a five-year-old Elvis fan.
She reportedly refused to wash her face for a long time afterward.
Think about that.
The photograph lasted only a fraction of a second.
The train stayed in Dallas for only about 20 minutes.
Elvis soon continued his journey toward Los Angeles and the filming of G.I. Blues.
The screaming crowd disappeared.
The train pulled away.
And the little girl who had kissed Elvis eventually grew up and moved on with her life.
Yet the camera had preserved something that neither time nor distance could erase.
A five-year-old girl.
The King of Rock and Roll.
One unexpected embrace.
One innocent kiss.
And a photograph that sat quietly in an archive for decades before the world began asking the same question:
Who was the little girl who kissed Elvis Presley?
For Margaret Anne Hollis, however, perhaps the most important part was never becoming famous for that photograph.
It was simply that, for a few unforgettable seconds, Elvis Presley had looked at a little girl, picked her up, and made her feel special.
And more than half a century later, she could still remember his eyes, his kindness — and that unmistakable sweet scent.
Some Elvis stories are about concerts, records, movies, or legendary performances.
This one is different.
It is about a five-year-old girl who met the King for only a moment.
