What You Never Knew About Riley Keough

Riley Keough's parents, Lisa Marie Presley and Danny Keough, divorced when she was 5 years old. Consequently, she was shuffled back and forth between her parents and also moved around a lot. For a time she moved to Florida from her hometown of Los Angeles, and also spent long periods of time in Hawaii. It wasn't exactly a stable home life for the young Keough, who told InStyle that she "kind of always felt out of place."

Making the experience even more dizzying were her parents' very different lives. She told The Guardian she "grew up very privileged with [her] mother" but had a more down-to-earth experience with her dad, who "had mattresses on the floor of his apartments" and "lived in cabins and trailer parks."

Still, her childhood was a happy one. "My memories of growing up with him were so colorful and eccentric and fun," she said of her dad. "It was a good vibe, you know?"

Instead of feeling deprived with her less-privileged father, she said that she actually envied his simpler lifestyle, and that she once told him she "want[ed] to grow up and be poor" without understanding "how wildly offensive that was."

Riley Keough always had plans to become an actress, and spent her childhood performing plays and even making her own movies at home but, as she told InStyle, she also "had a very practical mindset about it all for a child." While she knew that she wanted to enter show business one day, she also knew what she wanted to have a normal childhood and finish her education before starting her career, so she decided not to start acting professionally until she grew up.

Pragmatism aside, Keough probably could have been a child star had she wanted to go down that path. The signs of stardom were there, after all: As she told The Guardian, as a kid she'd stare into a mirror and practice crying on cue. "That's like the first sign that your child is going to be an actor. Is she crying in front of the mirror?" she joked.

Riley Keough is okay with being known as Elvis Presley's granddaughter, but it's always been a bit of a surreal experience for her. Presley died more than a decade before she was born, after all, which means she grew up hearing about him in stories but never actually met him. She told The Guardian that she's "not ashamed of" her famous lineage but that she "didn't really think about it that much."

In an interview with Variety, Keough said that she doesn't even listen to her grandfather's music very much, saying, "I don't put it on," and you can't really blame her when you consider the "grief" she associates with his hits. "It was kind of a sad thing, tragic kind of a thing ... and I could see from a young age, it would make my mom sad, and so I could feel that," she explained.

While she may have never met her grandfather, it would be easy enough for Keough to see someone dressed as him — something that strikes her as "pretty wild," as she told director Steven Soderburgh for Interview when he asked about how she felt about the "economic ecosystem built on people impersonating [her] grandfather."

With Presley blood running through her veins, you might be wondering why Riley Keough hasn't put out an album of her own yet — especially when you consider that her dad is a musician, too. While Keough took a different path to stardom, she did inherit some pretty impressive musical talent, telling Variety that, while she doesn't sound like her famous grandfather, she does "have kind of a country voice."

Those talents were put to good use singing backup for Orville Peck for a cover of the Lady Gaga song "Born This Way." The Amazon Prime series "Daisy Jones & the Six," set to release in March 2023, features Keough as the titular character, a singer in the 1970s (via Glamour). The actress also learned guitar for the role, telling Vogue that, while she doesn't have a background in music, she was eager for the chance to expand her musical skills. "I was like, 'I don't know if this is for me, but let's try!'" she said.

Riley Keough's younger brother, Benjamin Keough, died by suicide in 2020, per BBC. Keough was heartbroken by the death of her brother, telling The New York Times, "The first four or five months, I couldn't get out of bed. I was totally debilitated. I couldn't talk for two weeks."

While Keough gradually pulled herself out of her grief with the support of her loved ones, the loss of her brother is something that the actress will never truly get over. In an interview with the "Just for Variety" podcast, she said that after the death of her brother and "best friend," she tried to shed light on mental health by posting videos of Benjamin on social media (via Variety). She explained that while a lot of people have preconceived "ideas about suicide and what that looks like," she wants others to know that anyone could be struggling and "can take their life." Keough added that "taking away that bias around suicide ... was really important" to her.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Riley Keough is the type of person who likes to commemorate significant events with fresh ink. "It's like a scrapbook," she told The New York Times Style Magazine of the many tattoos on her body. Among her tattoos are the Gemini symbol and an image of the tarot deck's Hanged Man card. "The funny thing about tattoos is you get them and they have this deep meaning, but then you kind of forget they're on your body," said Keough.

Another of her tattoos is a Mayan symbol that marks her as "a Self-Existing World Bridger," as she told The Guardian. She also has ink dedicated to her late brother, Benjamin Keough, notes ET, having gotten his name tattooed above her collarbone after his death.

While many of her tattoos hold personal significance, Keough admitted to Flaunt that some mean more than others. The tattoo of the word "nope" on her right wrist, for example, is something she got on a whim while filming "American Honey." She explained, "Everyone was getting tattooed out of boredom, so I just got one, too." Just how many tattoos Keough has is unknown, but it's likely that the list will continue to grow over the years.

Living in the public eye isn't easy, and neither is coming from music royalty, but Riley Keough doesn't have time for haters. In fact, she doesn't care what they — or anyone else — might think of her. While this may seem like the kind of thing celebrities say in interviews to sound like they're above it all, Keough seems genuine in her disregard for anyone's opinion, telling Elle that it's an "incredible gift" and she is "going to hold on to it because I have a lot of insecurities in other areas."

It's definitely a talent that has helped her in such a cutthroat industry, saying, "If I mess up, I'm like, whatever. I'll try again, or I won't do that anymore if I'm not good at it."

It's not just about being thick-skinned, either. Keough told The New York Times that she simply doesn't "take things too seriously."

On January 12, 2023, Riley Keough experienced another premature loss. Her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, died at age 54 from heart complications, per CNN. She had been in attendance at the Golden Globes in honor of Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" just two days earlier, when she got to witness Austin Butler take home the trophy for his portrayal of her dad. 

Keough's grandmother, Priscilla Presley, confirmed the death of her daughter in a statement to People: "It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us. 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." 

As of publication, Keough has not commented publicly on the passing of her mother, which comes just a few years after the tragic loss of her younger brother. Fans have tweeted their support for her and the rest of her family, per Just Jared.