How Riley Keough has carved her own path outside her famous grandfather's shadow

Riley Keough has vivid childhood memories of hiding upstairs in her grandfather's palatial mansion waiting for the tourists to leave.

For those who cannot place her name, Keough is the eldest granddaughter of the late legendary King of Rock, Elvis Presley and daughter of his only child, the late Lisa Marie. 

Like her mother, the Presley lineage has meant Keough was destined for the spotlight. It's something she's reportedly both comfortable and uncomfortable with it.

The hardworking actor and singer is just as happy at home with her husband and child.

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Riley Keough is the eldest grandchild of Elvis Presley - and a Hollywood star in her own right. (Instagram)

Born in 1992 in Santa Monica, California, she's the eldest child to her parents, mother Lisa, a former singer and businesswoman, and father Danny, a musician.

She scored her first People magazine cover story she was just a few days old. The magazine ran with the headline: "Elvis's first grandchild - Here she is!" 

Keough was just five when her parents separated. 

Growing up she divided her time between their homes – the famous Graceland estate on her mother's side and her father's more modest abodes.

Graceland is the former home and resting place of Elvis. More than 600,000 visitors tour parts of the private estate each year.

"The tours would start in the morning, and we would hide upstairs until they were over," Keough told Vanity Fair in 2023. "The security would bring us breakfast."

Riley, pictured with parents Lisa Marie Presley and Danny Keough, made the cover of People magazine as a newborn. (Instagram)

The Daisy Jones and the Six star is aware of her unique childhood.

"I grew up very privileged with my mother," she told The Guardian in 2017. 

"But my dad didn't live like that. And I think experiencing both sides has been helpful. My father had mattresses on the floor of his apartments. He lived in cabins and trailer parks. He just didn't have much money." 

She remained naively unfazed by the stark difference between her parents' realities. When she was eight, she told her father she wanted to "grow up and be poor like you".

He recalled he was eating a bowl of cereal at the time and was unaware how offensive her comment was.

By age 12, Keough had an inkling of what her future career might look like.

At the time she was watching Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film Moulin Rouge, mesmerised by the performance of Australian actress Nicole Kidman. 

"I was like, 'Wow, I want to be Nicole Kidman, she made me feel so sad," she said.

Seeing Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge made Riley want to be an actress. (GC Images)

"I remember thinking how fulfilling it would be to do that, which is a big concept for a kid."

Before she became an actor, Keough was a model. She was walking runways by the time she was 14. 

A year later she was on the cover of Vogue with her mother and grandmother, Priscilla Presley. 

Back then, Keough was known by her birth name, Danielle. She's since started using her middle name and nickname, Riley, for her professional work.

She scored her first acting role in 2010. It was in the coming-of-age film about the all-girl 70s band, The Runaways. It starred Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning.

The Presley family tree. (Polly Hanning/9Honey)

After sending a self-taped audition for a role in Steven Soderbergh's 2012 film Magic Mike, Keough's career flourished.

In the space of just four years, she booked 13 film and TV projects, including two more with the American director.

One of the projects was the physiological TV drama The Girlfriend Experience, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

Keough is a self confessed workaholic. It's something she believes she was born with.

"I think we're half nature, half nurture. I was naturally somebody that was very punctual and hardworking and wanted to do things. My upbringing was very different to that," she told Vanity Fair.

Riley's mother Lisa Marie Presley died in January 2023 after complications following surgery. (Getty Images for ELLE)

"It was very no-schedule: Sometimes we go to school, sometimes we don't. That was what I was used to, so I was living out my teen and childhood years as though that was what I wanted.

"I'm definitely an adventurous and spontaneous person, but I thrive on routine. My parents said when I was little, I was very much trying to organise things and make things happen."

The 35-year-old celebrity has meant she's lived her personal tragedies, publicly.

She wasn't born when her grandfather passed away, but has been forced to endure the spectre of the spotlight following the death of both her brother Benjamin and mother.

Benjamin died by suicide aged 27 in 2020. Their mother passed three years latercomplications from bariatric surgery. She was 54.

"My mum physically died from the after effects of her surgery, but we all knew she died of a broken heart," Keough told People in September this year.

Following her mother's death, Keough became the sole trustee of Lisa Marie's estate. Before her mother's death she helped her complete her memior.

Lisa Marie's passing caused a lengthy legal dispute with her grandmother over the family's estate. They reached a settlement in May 2023.

Lisa Marie's death caused a legal dispute between Riley and her grandmother, Prescilla Presley. (Getty)

"My family has resolved all confusion as it relates to our plea to the court and request for document interpretation after my daughter Lisa Marie's untimely passing," Priscilla said in a statement to People following the settlement.

"Although some media identified such a plea as a lawsuit, I want to make clear that there was never any lawsuit filed against my beloved granddaughter.

"As a family, we are pleased that we resolved this together. My family and I hope that everyone will grant us the privacy we have needed to properly grieve Lisa Marie and spend personal time together. We love and appreciate all of you and the Presley family is stronger than ever."

As for whether things with her grandmother were happy following months of speculated tension, Keough said at the time: "Things with Grandma will be happy. They've never not been happy."

Keough's life hasn't all been about tragedy. Since 2015, she's been married to a man she describes as her soulmate, her husband, Australian stuntman, Ben Smith-Petersen.

Riley and Aussie stuntman Ben Smith-Petersen were married in 2015. (Instagram)

They met on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road in 2012. By 2014 they were engaged.

"I don't see the future, but I know certain things are going to happen," she said.Daisy Jones & the Six.

"Like when I met my husband, he came out of the gas station on our second date and I thought, 'I'm going to marry him and have kids with him.' I just knew. We didn't even say 'I love you' yet."

The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Tupelo, via surrogate in 2022.

Tupelo is named in tribute after her great-grandfather's birthplace. 

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