Benjamin Keough: Tragic Details About The Life And Death Of Lisa Marie Presley's Son

Dave M. Benett/Getty Images

The following article contains mentions of addiction, mental health issues, and suicide.

When Lisa Marie Presley's son, Benjamin Keough – whom she shared with ex-husband Danny Keough – died tragically at age 27 in July 2020, it shook the entire family to their core. Presley — who had already dealt with plenty of tragedy in her life, including the death of her famous father at age 9 — was distraught. In fact, Presley was never the same again after her son's tragic death. Taking a step back from the spotlight, she told fans on Instagram in May 2022 that she was having trouble coping with the loss. "Navigating through this hideous grief that absolutely destroyed and shattered my heart and my soul into almost nothing has swallowed me whole," she confessed.

Riley Keough similarly struggled with her brother's death. "The first four or five months, I couldn't get out of bed," she told The New York Times in 2021. "I was totally debilitated." The impact was so lasting, in fact, that Riley told media that the cause of her mother's death in January 2023 was a broken heart.

Benjamin was a bright light in his family's life, but sadly, he himself often struggled. Here are the tragic details about the life and death of Lisa Marie Presley's only son.

When Benjamin Keough was just 16 years old, his famous musician mother, Lisa Marie Presley, began abusing opioids. As she later explained in the foreword to the 2019 book, "The United States of Opioids: A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain," she was initially prescribed painkillers by her doctor following the birth of her twins, Harper Vivienne and Finley, in 2008 when she was 40. Over the next few years, she became increasingly dependent on the medication, eventually turning to cocaine and alcohol as well. "I was not happy," she told Today. "The struggle in addiction for me started [when I was] 45 years old."

While she didn't go into detail at the time, a 2017 deposition from her headline-making 2016 divorce with Michael Lockwood revealed the extent of Presley's addiction. In documents obtained by Radar, Presley said she went through as many as five stints in rehab. "The last year of our marriage, I was abusing cocaine terribly," she told the court, adding, "I didn't mix the pills and alcohol until, like, the last two years." By this time, Keough would have been in his early 20s and, heartbreakingly, would soon go through a similar (and equally secretive) experience of his own.

Lisa Marie Presley worked hard to keep her struggle with addiction out of the spotlight, and it seems son Benjamin Keough did, too. The day after news broke of Keough's death, a family friend spoke with blogger Tony Ortega and claimed that the 27-year-old had recently completed a stint in rehab for drug and alcohol abuse.

Indeed, according to Keough's autopsy, which was seen by The Sun, Presley's son had been "known to abuse alcohol and use illicit drugs, cocaine" and both were found in his system following his death. The document also confirmed that Keough had entered rehab on three separate occasions, but only finished the program once. What's more, it was reported that he had spent three weeks in a rehab facility just four or five months prior to his death.

Keough's sobriety journey was likely made even more difficult by the fact that he grew up in Scientology, as the church's treatment of addiction appears to be non-conventional, to say the least. As late anti-Scientology commentator Steve Cox once explained (via The Underground Bunker), "Scientologists believe that the Narconon treatment can cure you of alcoholism and once completed, you can drink in safety again."

Lisa Marie Presley was 10 years old when her mother, Priscilla Presley, decided the family would join Scientology after hearing John Travolta singing its praises. While her relationship with the church would prove to be contentious, Lisa Marie was an active member until 2014. In fact, she lived at the Scientology Celebrity Center in Hollywood, California for several years, and it's also where she met her first husband, musician Danny Keough. Keough has been described by Page Six as being "church royalty of sorts," and so, not surprisingly, when he and Presley had kids Benjamin and Riley Keough, both were brought up in the church.

Ultimately, Presley left the church and so did her children. Benjamin never spoke out against it publicly, but one insider told Scientology expert and critic Tony Ortega that Presley's son would often badmouth the church to those he knew. The source claimed that, just two months before his death, "Ben had been talking about how f***ed up kids get in Scientology." A second insider agreed that the church would have had a negative impact on Benjamin's upbringing, noting it puts a strain on most family relationships and bars access from proper mental health care. "The entire family was shaped by Scientology, and it's paying the price because of it," they posited.

Benjamin Keough was born with music in his veins. Not only was he the grandson of the legendary Elvis Presley, but both his mother and father were talented musicians. That musical passion was passed on to Keough, who reportedly played both the guitar and bass. However, given his rich heritage, pursuing his passion wasn't exactly easy. "He loves music ... but that's a lot to put on him," his mom conceded during an appearance on The Talk. "I'm trying to let him do his thing without pushing that on him."

Even so, it seems that Keough did decide to give music a shot. In 2009, it was reported that the then-17-year-old had landed a five-album record deal with Universal Music valued at $5 million. "The music will be nothing like Elvis, nothing like him at all," he reportedly told the crowd at the Inspiration Awards for Women in London, England, per the Daily Mail. The plan was to release his debut album in 2010, but no music ever came to fruition. While it's unclear what happened, Universal Music's executive vice president, Peter LoFrumento, told People (via EW), there was never actually a deal to begin with. "This story is totally untrue," he clarified to the outlet.

As Benjamin Keough grew older, he began to look more and more like his famous grandfather. Indeed, when Lisa Marie Presley tweeted a family photo in 2019, fans couldn't get over how much Keough looked just like a young Elvis Presley. "Your son is identical to your father," responded one follower, while another agreed, "Your son is a twin of your Dad!"

Sadly, Keough may not have seen the similarity as an entirely positive thing. His physical resemblance paired with the burden of trying to live up to the Presley name apparently took a real toll on Lisa Marie's son. Following Keough's death, friend and fellow musician Brandon Howard told People, "It's a tough thing when you have a lot of pressure with your family and living up to a name and an image."

Howard added that Keough felt like he had to excel if he pursued music because of his heritage, and that weighed on his mental health. "That kind of pressure is definitely a part of what happened," his friend alleged. Multiple other sources agreed, with one telling The U.S. Sun, "I think he was struggling with his identity." Another added, "He wasn't really allowed to be himself, he had big shoes to fill, and he looked just like the shadow he was in."

The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown that followed were difficult for many people to deal with. Feelings of isolation were common and, according to Benjamin Keough's longtime friend, Brandon Howard, being alone took a negative toll on Keough's mental health. "Sometimes he struggled with depression, which is a serious thing with ... everybody being locked in the house," Howard explained to People following his friend's death. However, another source told The U.S. Sun that Keough had actually been struggling long before that. "He was depressed, he didn't really have an education, a job or a passion, he was lost in life, and he has always been in his grandfather's shadow," they claimed. "I think it was all just too much for him."

Keough's autopsy report later confirmed that he did struggle with depression and sometimes refused to leave his room for extended periods of time. It also revealed that, prior to his tragic death by suicide, Keough had tried to take his life, about six months earlier. Then, just two weeks before it happened, he sent his mother a worrying but telling text. According to Lisa Marie Presley's posthumous 2024 memoir, "From Here to the Great Unknown," he wrote her (via Page Six), "I think something's wrong with me mentally or something like that. I think I have a mental health issue."

Benjamin Keough was just 27 years old when he died by suicide inside his mother's home in Calabasas, California in July 2020. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office soon confirmed that Keough had died from a single gunshot wound and that it was self-inflicted.

The autopsy report released that October added additional context to his tragic death. According to the document, which was seen by The Sun, the death occurred on the same night of a birthday party being hosted at the home for his girlfriend, Diana Pinto. The two were reportedly seen having a "possible verbal argument" in the backyard, which was caught on security cameras, before Keough headed for the bathroom. Minutes later, a gunshot was allegedly heard, and Pinto proceeded to search for Keough. According to the report, she found his bedroom door locked and forced it open using a bobby pin. Upon entering the bathroom, she found Keough lying unresponsive on the floor, and police later confirmed his death.

Lisa Marie Presley shared an incredibly close bond with her son. As her manager told the Daily Mail, "He was the love of her life." They were so close, in fact, that she actually made the unconventional decision to hold onto his body for months before burying him.

According to Presley's posthumous 2024 memoir, "From Here to the Great Unknown" (via Page Six), she couldn't decide if he should be laid to rest at Graceland or in Hawaii and so, she brought him home, which is allowed under California law. "My house has a separate casitas bedroom and I kept Ben Ben in there for two months," she explained. As strange as that may sound, she mused, "I got so used to him, caring for him and keeping him there."

Ultimately, Keough was buried at Graceland but not until his mother and sister, Riley Keough, got his name tattooed in a font that matched his own ink. As Riley shared in the memoir, her mom's decision to finally bury Benjamin stemmed from that day. When the tattoo artist came over to their house and asked if they had a photo of Keough's tattoos, Presley reportedly told him, "No, but I can show you." As Riley wrote, the funeral happened shortly after that bizarre exchange because "even my mom said that she could feel him talking to her, saying 'This is insane, Mom, what are you doing? What the f***?'"

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, needs help with mental health issues, or is struggling or in crisis, contact the relevant resources below:

• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
• 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. 
• Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.