Cybill Shepherd Spills On Steamy Affair With Elvis Presley

Hollywood icon Cybill Shepherd is getting candid about one in all her most famous romances, her temporary but unforgettable relationship with Elvis Presley. The 75-year-old actress stunned fans with fresh details about their Nineteen Seventies love affair during her live show, “An Evening with Cybill Shepherd: Music, Conversation & Stories,” held Friday on the Catalina Jazz Club in Los Angeles. Shepherd, best known for “The Last Picture Show” and “Moonlighting,” revealed that her song “Graceland (Revisited)” was inspired by her time with the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, who passed away in 1977 at just 42 years old.

The Memphis-born actress, who’s long been linked to several Hollywood heavyweights, reflected on the connection she shared with Presley, describing him as magnetic, spiritual, and in contrast to anyone she’s ever met. “[Elvis] was slightly bit too near God or any person,” she told the audience, in response to PEOPLE, adding that despite his larger-than-life persona, “Elvis was really cool though.”

Before launching into her emotional tribute song, “Graceland (Revisited),” co-written with former musical director Tom Adams, Shepherd channeled her inner Presley, playfully mimicking his signature drawl for the gang before calling him “an important guy. She then transitioned into the soulful performance that had audience members hanging on every note.

Their fling, which took place within the early Nineteen Seventies, got here at a time when each stars were at the peak of their fame. While Shepherd has previously hinted that their romance didn’t last long, her tone this weekend was stuffed with nostalgia slightly than regret, a transparent sign that the King left a long-lasting mark.

The 2-hour event wasn’t nearly Elvis. The actress also dished on her other famous entanglements, including her steamy fling with Don Johnson at the height of his Miami Vice stardom. “Don Johnson and I didn’t do scenes together, but we did have plenty of fun,” she teased. “No, we didn’t do scenes in front of the camera; we messed around behind the camera.”

Shepherd explained that while working on the 1985 TV miniseries “The Long Hot Summer,” she was initially eyeing a special role, but producers told her she was “too pretty” for the part originally played by Joanne Woodward. “I didn’t hit that part, but I got one other one,” she said with amusing.

While much of the evening focused on Cybill Shepherd’s famous romances, the “Taxi Driver” star also took a moment to honor some of the essential figures in her skilled life, none aside from Orson Welles. The legendary actor, author, and director, best known for “Citizen Kane,” served as what Shepherd called her “mentor.” She revealed that their connection went far beyond film sets and red carpets. “He got here to live with [director] Peter Bogdanovich and I,” Shepherd shared with the gang, recalling a time in her life stuffed with creativity and chaos. “And Orson and I got very close, and he was an important influence in my life.”

Shepherd credited Welles with helping her stay grounded amid the whirlwind of Hollywood fame, especially as her rising stardom within the Nineteen Seventies drew constant media attention. “He helped me stay focused on what was essential,” she said. “Keep my concentrate on that and just keep moving. In order that was good.”

Long before she was sharing stories about Elvis Presley and Don Johnson, Cybill Shepherd had already cemented her place as one in all Hollywood’s most magnetic stars, each on and off the screen. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Shepherd’s profession skyrocketed within the early Nineteen Seventies when she was solid in Peter Bogdanovich’s “The Last Picture Show,” a performance that earned her a Golden Globe nomination and fast sex-symbol status. She followed it up with unforgettable turns in “The Heartbreak Kid” and Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver,” proving she was greater than just a reasonably face. She was a powerhouse of talent and charisma.

But just as her acting profession exploded, so did her love life.

The blonde bombshell quickly became some of the sought-after women in Hollywood, famously linked to a few of the industry’s biggest names. Beyond her romance with Elvis Presley, Shepherd had high-profile relationships with director Peter Bogdanovich, her “Moonlighting” co-star Bruce Willis (whom she’s admitted to having “real chemistry” with), and musician James Naughton, amongst others.

She’s been married twice, first to David Ford from 1978 to 1982, with whom she shares daughter Clementine Ford, and later to Bruce Oppenheim, from 1987 to 1990, with whom she welcomed twins Ariel and Cyrus.