Sad Details About Riley Keough
Ever since she made her acting debut in 2010 biopic "The Runaways," Riley Keough has lit up the screen. She's become a Steven Soderbergh regular, appearing in everything from his TV drama "The Girlfriend Experience" to box office hits "Magic Mike" and "Logan Lucky." She's earned critical acclaim for her indie work in the likes of "It Comes At Night," "American Honey" and "Zola." And she's also proved she inherited her family's musical genes as the frontwoman in Amazon smash, "Daisy Jones and the Six."
But as Keough's career went on the ascent, her personal life fell into disarray. Indeed, the multi-talented granddaughter of Elvis Presley and daughter of late singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley has had to deal with the deaths of two very close loved ones in the space of three years, while also watching a feud with another play out in the media.
And we've not even mentioned another major loss, the mental health problems she's battled since her teens or the issues she'd faced within the showbiz industry. Here's a look at the sadder parts of Keough's eventful life story.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
Her parents divorced when she was five
Riley Keough was born in Santa Monica, California, in 1989 to musician father Danny Keough and singer mother Lisa Marie Presley, with brother Benjamin arriving three years later. Sadly, she didn't get to enjoy this family unit for long as in 1994, her parents decided to divorce.
As a result, Riley spent much of her childhood alternating her time between both. But while the actor continued to live a life of luxury whenever she visited her mom — Lisa inherited the Graceland residence of father Elvis Presley — it was a different story whenever she stayed with her father. "My father had mattresses on the floor of his apartments," Riley recalled to The Guardian in 2017. "He lived in cabins and trailer parks. He just didn't have much money."
Luckily, a young Riley enjoyed the experience of seeing how the other half live. She added, "Actually, my memories of growing up with him were so colorful and eccentric and fun. It was a good vibe, you know? When I was like eight I told him, 'I want to grow up and be poor like you!' He was eating a bowl of cereal. I didn't realize how wildly offensive that was!"
Riley Keough felt out of place at school
Riley Keough's rather nomadic childhood meant that she had something of a "weird relationship" with education. In fact, "The House That Jack Built" star ended up leaving school without graduating, something she later told InStyle was an inevitability.
Keough said, "I felt like I was behind — I'd get into a new school, and then I would have to leave, and then I wouldn't keep up with the curriculum, and then I'd have to go to another school. This is when I was very little. So I kind of just gave up, and I home-schooled, and then I kind of gave up on that too ... But it's a shame, because I really wanted an education, and I really wanted to go to college, I just didn't have a lifestyle that would permit that."
It doesn't sound like Keough was the model pupil, though, even when she did make it to class. In an interview with The Guardian, the actor admitted that she didn't take kindly to being told what to do: "I had like a bad reaction to authority, like mean teachers, or just a rude movie ticket person — anyone abusing their power. It really irritated me. So I was like super-shy but still kind of strong in myself. I was weird."
Heartbreak followed a younger Riley Keough around
In 2015, Riley Keough walked down the aisle with Ben Smith-Petersen, a stuntman from Australia who she'd met while working on post-apocalyptic blockbuster "Mad Max: Fury Road." Nearly a decade on and the couple are still going strong, a far cry from the previous relationships that the actor has found herself in.
In an interview with Town and Country, the Golden Globe nominee revealed nearly all of her former boyfriends had ended up cheating on her, something which is an instant deal breaker. "Some people are okay with that but it's not really my jam," she said before adding that she's only ever been dumped on one occasion. "I like to think that's because I'm a very good girlfriend."
We're not sure whether she's referring to the junior high school boyfriend who broke up with Keough because she wouldn't French-kiss him. Either way, "The Devil All the Time" star acknowledges that all partnerships are tricky. When asked about the likelihood of her marriage lasting the distance, she replied, "You know, I'm not delusional or a complete idiot, and neither is Ben ... I want to have children with Ben, and I know we'll always be close. That's what you want anytime you get married."
Riley Keough had a very intense childhood
As you would expect, being the granddaughter of what many consider to be the most important pop culture icon of all time, Riley Keough had to live her life in the spotlight from a young age. And the public interest in her family life only increased further when mum Lisa Marie Presley married another musical legend, Michael Jackson.
Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2023, Keough revealed that as a result, she could empathize with the offspring of TV's most famous reality show clan: "I grew up with a family that was very much in the public eye, and my childhood was really intense in that way, especially in the Nineties and early 2000s. It was probably similar to what the Kardashian kids experience now — not being able to go out the front of buildings and having to sneak around."
Keough, who, as stuntman husband Ben Smith-Petersen revealed at her mother's memorial, gave birth to a daughter in 2022, is appreciative that she can now enjoy a more everyday life. "Being able to go to the coffee shop and sit there," is now one of her favorite things to do.
The death of Michael Jackson hit her hard
Just 20 days after divorcing first husband Danny Keough, Lisa Marie Presley stunned everyone when she walked down the aisle with Michael Jackson. This unlikely development, of course, also made the King of Pop a stepfather to Benjamin and Riley Keough. And although the marriage only lasted two years, the latter was still left devastated when Michael died in 2009.
In the wake of the tragedy, Riley wrote (via People), "He was an amazing person and I am lucky to have gotten as close to him as I did and to have had the many experiences and years that we had together. I desperately hope that he can be relieved from his pain, pressure and turmoil now. He deserves to be free from all of that and I hope he is in a better place or will be."
Despite the accusations that continued to follow Michael around after his death, Riley remained firmly in his corner. Speaking to The New York Times in 2017 about her childhood experiences at Neverland, she gushed, "I loved him ... There were toys everywhere, animals everywhere, kids everywhere. It was like being at Disneyland all day."
Riley Keough suffers from anxiety
In 2019, Riley Keough took to Twitter to reveal for the first time that she suffered from both depression and anxiety, joking that both of the conditions were "so so fun." And two years later, the "Logan Lucky" star opened up further about her mental health battles in an interview with Glamour.
Keough explained that she'd had to deal with anxiety, and the panic attacks which stem from it, since her early teenage years, adding, "I would find myself running from it as a kid and in my early 20s and just whatever I can do to not feel that. As I've gotten older, if I feel anxious, I start really sitting in it, just allowing it and not resisting it. That's been a really big one for me but it's not always comfortable."
The actor explained that she used to try everything from meditation to exercise to overcome any negative feelings but now understands that sadness is a part of everyday life. And she believes that social media, and its promotion of "running, drinking our green juice, yoga-ing, hiking, having 20 babies, being happy and wholesome all day long" is making it harder to accept this: "Life is challenging, life is great, it's difficult and we're in a society where we are told that happiness is the goal."
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
Riley Keough's brother died by suicide
In 2020, Riley Keough suffered the first of several family tragedies in quick succession when her younger brother died by suicide. The Los Angeles Coroner's Office reported that Benjamin Keough died from a gunshot wound that was self-inflicted.
Just like "Daisy Jones and the Six" star Riley and their parents Lisa Marie Presley and David Keough — not to mention their world-conquering superstar grandfather Elvis Presley — Benjamin had a keen interest in music. In fact, he was said to have landed a $5 million deal with Universal, although nothing was ever released. Unlike the rest of his famous family, however, Benjamin preferred to keep out of the spotlight. His Instagram account, for example, was set to private and he rarely graced the red carpet.
Shortly after the tragedy, Riley took to Instagram to share several snaps of herself and Benjamin. She captioned the carousel, "Mornings are the hardest. I forget you're gone. I can't cry because of the fear that I will never stop. A pain that's new to me. You. There are no words for you. Angel is the closest I could think of. Pure light. Baby brother. Best friend. Wild man. Intellectual. Witness to my life. Twin soul. Protector. Too sensitive for this harsh world."
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
She struggled to deal with the death of her brother
"A year of feeling like I was thrown into the ocean and couldn't swim." That's how Riley Keough described life in the wake of her brother Benjamin's suicide during a 2021 interview with The New York Times. "The Girlfriend Experience" star also revealed that she couldn't talk for two weeks following the tragedy and that she struggled to get out of bed for a further four months.
Riley added, "It's very complicated for our minds to put that somewhere because it's so outrageous. If I'm going through a breakup, I know what to do with that and where to file it in my mind, but suicide of your brother? Where do you put that? How does that integrate? It just doesn't."
Two years after Benjamin's death, Riley told her Instagram followers that she was still struggling to come to terms with the loss of her sibling, captioning a snap of the pair, "Not an hour goes by where I don't think of you and miss you ... You are so loved my Ben Ben."
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Riley Keough lost her mother
Riley Keough experienced more family heartbreak in 2023 when her mother Lisa Marie Presley died aged just 54. The daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley was taken to West Hills Hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest at her Calabasas home but was pronounced dead later that same day.
The news was all the more shocking for the fact that Lisa Marie had only just attended the Golden Globes days before. The star was in attendance with her mother to support Baz Luhrmann's biopic about the King of Rock and Roll. "Elvis" had been nominated for three awards, including Austin Butler's nomination for Best Actor for his astonishing portrayal of the musical legend.
While Priscilla posted a heartfelt statement immediately after Lisa Marie's death, Riley initially decided to keep her thoughts to herself. However, eight days on, she broke her silence with a throwback picture of herself and her mother accompanied by a red heart emoji. Soon after, she uploaded a momentous snap of the pair at a restaurant captioned, "I feel blessed to have a photo of the last time I saw my beautiful mama."
The Elvis film made Riley Keough cry
Watching the life story of the grandfather who died years before you were born being dramatized on the big screen would be an emotionally intense experience for anyone. And so it's little surprise that Riley Keough bawled her eyes out after viewing Baz Luhrmann's biopic "Elvis" for the first time in 2022.
In a chat with Variety, Keough admitted that she started shedding tears just five minutes into the Oscar-nominated picture: "There's a lot of family trauma and generational trauma that started around then for our family." Luckily, the "American Honey" star finished the movie believing that Luhrmann and Austin Butler, the actor tasked with portraying the King of Rock and Roll, had done her grandfather justice.
As for why she didn't take a role in the movie herself, particularly when she's the spitting image of her grandmother Priscilla Presley in her younger years, Keough explained, "It's intense enough to watch, I don't want to act in it. It was never a conversation. I think there was a boundary there that felt respected in a nice way."
Did she fall out with grandmother Priscilla Presley?
Just weeks after the sudden death of Lisa Marie Presley, news emerged that her daughter and mother had become embroiled in a dispute over her estate. According to Yahoo! News, Priscilla Presley had questioned the validity of an amendment from 2016 which appointed Riley and Benjamin Keough as co-trustees and removed Barry Siegel, her ex-business manager, from the same position.
This change meant that Priscilla had no input into her late daughter's financial matters, which included a stake of 15 percent in Elvis Presley Enterprises and the famous Graceland residence, and due to the suicide of Benjamin in 2020, also left Riley as the sole trustee. Apparently, the widow of Elvis Presley was also unaware about this development until after Lisa Marie had died.
The fact that this was brought up while the family were still grieving was said to have further incurred the wrath of Riley: a petition was filed just four days after Lisa Marie's memorial. But when asked about the apparent war in April 2023, Priscilla insisted, slightly unconvincingly, that everything was all hunky dory and that her granddaughter was "great." A month later, she and Riley's lawyers came to an agreement, with unveiled documents revealing that Priscilla would be given a $1 million payment plus $400,000 in legal fees.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Riley Keough became a death doula
Riley Keough was understandably overcome with grief in the wake of her brother Benjamin's suicide in 2020. And one of her coping mechanisms was to help others going through similar situations. Indeed, as she announced on her Instagram account, the "War Pony" director became a certified death doula, the name given to a practitioner who provides emotional, practical and spiritual support to those who have just lost a loved one.
Alongside a quote from 13th century poet Rumi, Keough explained why she took this unusual career sidestep: "We are taught that its a morbid subject to talk about. Or were so afraid of it that we're unable to talk about it ... then of course it happens to us, and we are very ill prepared."
Keough, who would tragically lose her mother Lisa Marie just two years later, went on to add, "I think it's so important to be educated on conscious dying and death the way we educate ourselves on birth and conscious birthing. We prepare ourselves so rigorously for the entrance and have no preparation for our exit. So I'm so grateful for this community and to be able to contribute what I can."
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
The industry left Riley Keough doubting her talents
As the granddaughter of Elvis Presley and daughter of Lisa Marie Presley, Riley Keough has inevitably faced her fair share of nepo baby accusations. And the skepticism over whether she'd have risen to stardom without her famous family connections has often impacted on the actor's confidence.
Speaking to Vogue Australia in 2023, the "Under the Silver Lake" star admitted that she'd often taken such criticism to heart: "I've experienced it a lot in my career ... where you feel like you have to work a lot harder to be heard. There's a perception, or it feels like you've ended up where you are by accident and not that you've earned your seat at the table ... The experience of constantly being underestimated is debilitating. Years of that results in you doubting yourself."
Keough was promoting her titular performance in Amazon musical drama "Daisy Jones and the Six" at the time. And this was a role that left her questioning her talents more than any other: "There were days where I'd go home crying and frustrated and didn't think I was going to be able to be at the level I needed to be, because I think you watch the show and it feels effortless. And it wasn't."
Riley Keough had to fight for her directorial debut
After proving her talents as an actor, model and singer, Riley Keough added another string to her bow in 2022 with Indigenous drama "War Pony." The star co-directed the tale of two youngsters from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation alongside another first-timer, Gina Gammell. But in an interview with the BBC, she admitted to finding the whole funding process depressing.
"I don't know if some have caught up on the concepts that women can be in positions of power and can be trusted," Keough remarked. "There's a lot of talk and I think there's some great effort, but I don't know if the people who are making those decisions are totally there yet."
At times, Keough wondered if the movie would ever get completed, adding, "You have two females making their first feature with a completely indigenous cast of, quote unquote, no value in terms of the marketplace and no movie stars. We see this a lot because Gina and I have a production company and we see the money that's given to men versus women, first-time filmmaker or not. And it's really an issue still." But the pair's perseverance appeared to pay off when "War Pony" won the prestigious Camera d'Or, the prize given to the best first feature, at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.