- Riley Keough is Elvis Presley’s granddaughter and the eldest child of Lisa Marie Presley
- She is an actress, director, and model, best known for her role in Mad Max: Fury Road
- Her mother passed away on Jan. 12, 2023 at age 54
- Riley’s younger brother Ben died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Jul. 2020
Riley Keough, 33, is part of Hollywood royalty as the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and granddaughter of the late Elvis Presley. While the family’s legacy is undeniable, they’ve also had to cope with many tragedies over the years.
Lisa Marie Presley died at age 54 on Jan. 12, 2023 after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest. Now, Riley — along with her grandmother Priscilla Presley, 77, and twin siblings Finley and Harper, 14 — are in mourning.
Priscilla confirmed her daughter’s death, sharing, “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us.” The statement went on, “She was the most passionate strong, and loving woman I have ever known. We ask for privacy as we try to deal with this profound loss. Thank you for the love and prayers. At this time there will be no further comment.”
Loss seems too familiar to the family. It was just two years ago when the Presleys mourned Riley’s brother Benjamin who passed away at 27 years old in Jul. 2020. He died in Calabasas, CA, according to TMZ, “from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Fans of the star were quick to send their support. As culture writer J’na Jefferson shared on Twitter, “Heart is going out to Riley Keough. To lose a brother and mother in a two-year span is absolutely devastating.”
As Riley and her family reel from Lisa Marie’s death, let’s learn more about the actress. Here are five things to know:
1. Her family has deep roots in Hollywood.
Riley’s mom Lisa Marie was the daughter of rock ‘n’ roll star Elvis Presley, who died in 1977 at just 42, and his ex-wife Priscilla Presley. Riley’s dad is musician Danny Keough, 58, who was also the father of her late brother Benjamin. The late Michael Jackson briefly became Riley’s stepfather when her mom married the pop star in 1994, and Nicolas Cage was also her stepdad via Lisa’s brief marriage to him in 2002.
Riley and family were thrilled to showcase Elvis’ legacy when the Austin Butler-fronted Elvis biopic came out in 2022. Riley talked about what an amazing experience it was to promote the film with her mom and grandma. She told The Hollywood Reporter, “I do press and all of these things, but I always do it alone. To be able to have these experiences with my mom, my grandmother and my sisters has been really emotional, special and overwhelming for all of us.”
2. Her mother was ‘an inspiration to her.’
Riley was quick to admit her mom Lisa Marie was one of her main muses. While talking to People in late 2022, she said, “My mother is certainly an inspiration to me,” adding, that the rocker was “a very strong, smart woman.”
“I was raised by somebody who did their own thing and didn’t really care what other people thought,” the star of Daisy Jones & The Six said. “She was definitely inspirational to me.” Riley went on to note how she’s “always interested in women who weren’t behaving ‘the right way.” She concluded, “I think just women who were liberated were inspiring to me.”
3. She’s married.
Riley has been married to Ben Smith Peterson since 2015. The Aussie stuntman was at Riley’s side when she and her family rushed to the hospital to be with Lisa Marie when she died in Jan. 2023.
Riley married her husband Ben when she was just 25 years old in a Napa Valley affair back in 2015. The couple, who met on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road, took to Facebook to announce their engagement in 2014 and they were wed the next year.
Riley stunned on her wedding day in a vintage-style long-sleeved gown by Delphine Manivet. Prior to tying the knot, she dated her Magic Mike co-star Alex Pettyfer, was linked to Robert Pattinson and had relationships with singer Ryan Cabrera and actor Jonah Hill.
4. She’s an actor.
Riley made her debut in 2010 film The Runaways at just 20 alongside Kristen Stewart, playing the role of Marie Currie. She went on to appear in a number of other films shortly after, including comedy Magic Mike, and several Mad Max movies. Riley was front and center in the 2016 anthology series The Girlfriend Experience, earning rave reviews and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. The same year, she starred in American Honey which earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Female.
Riley ventured into the horror scene in 2017 with It Comes at Night, and continued the run with the 2018 Lars von Trier feature The House That Jack Built, then Hold the Dark (2018), and The Lodge (2019.) She had a standout role in the comedy-drama Zola (2020) and appeared in Netflix’s The Devil All the Time (2020).
5. She’s a filmmaker too
Riley made her directorial debut with 2022’s War Pony. The film, which was co-directed by Gina Gammell, screened at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and went on to win the Caméra d’Or Award. The film follows the interlocking stories of two young Oglala Lakota men growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
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