Riley Keough on how her daughter's name honors Elvis Presley, late brother Benjamin
Riley Keough is opening up in a big way.
The "Daisy Jones & The Six" actress is on the cover of Vanity Fair's September issue, on newsstands Aug. 15, and in a wide-ranging interview discussed topics including the last time she saw her mother Lisa Marie Presley before her tragic death in January, her current relationship with her grandmother Priscilla Presley following a headline-grabbing legal spat, and on a happier note, her daughter, whose name she revealed.
Keep reading to see what Keough said about these topics -- and more.
On losing her mother after her brother's death
Lisa Marie Presley died Jan. 12, with Keough last seeing her the day prior at a party for "Elvis," the Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic about her grandfather Elvis Presley. The party was held the day after Austin Butler won the Golden Globe for playing the late rock 'n' roll legend.
"We had dinner. That was the last time I saw her," Keough recalled. "I remember thinking about how beautiful she looked, and that was my strongest memory of the dinner."
Her death came two and a half years after Benjamin Keough, Keough's brother and Lisa Marie Presley's only son, died by suicide in July 2020.
"He was a very special soul," Keough said, adding that he "felt like my twin."
Keough said she has experienced "a great deal of pain" from these back-to-back losses, adding that it "felt like my heart exploded" but also that she has "strengthened the qualities that have come about through adversity."
"When I lost my brother, there was no road map whatsoever, and it was a lot of big emotions that I didn't know what to do with," she said, noting that she "was familiar with the process a little bit more" when her mom died. "I started trying to move through it and not let it take me out."
As for what she wants the world to remember about her mom, she said it would be that "she was really one of a kind" and -- despite not having an easy life -- she was a "fierce woman, and a really wonderful mother."
On becoming a mom herself
The world learned Keough and her husband Ben Smith-Petersen had welcomed a daughter at Lisa Marie Presley's memorial, thanks to a eulogy Keough wrote that her husband read aloud for her.
Keough revealed the baby's name -- Tupelo Storm -- in the Vanity Fair profile, revealing it was a tribute to her grandfather's birthplace in Mississippi, with the baby's middle name being the same as the one held by her late brother. She and Smith-Petersen welcomed their daughter in August 2022 via surrogate.
"She's literally like someone shrunk my husband and that's our baby," Keough said of Tupelo, revealing she most sees herself in her daughter thanks to a curl of hair at the nape of her neck.
"This is the thing in my life so far that I have really wanted to, quote-unquote, get right. I don't think you ever can be a perfect parent, but I would like to be the best mom for her that I can be," she said, adding that this is "very important" to her.
On her relationship with her grandmother
After Lisa Marie Presley's death, a months-long legal tussle kicked off over her estate. A settlement has since been reached between Keough and her grandmother, which sees Keough becoming sole trustee of her mother's trust and the sub-trusts for her younger sisters, 14-year-old twins Finley and Harper. Keough is now also the owner of Graceland, Elvis' estate in Memphis.
"When my mom passed, there was a lot of chaos in every aspect of our lives. Everything felt like the carpet had been ripped out and the floor had melted from under us. Everyone was in a bit of a panic to understand how we move forward, and it just took a minute to understand the details of the situation, because it's complicated," she said.
Keough added, "We are a family, but there's also a huge business side of our family. So, I think that there was clarity that needed to be had."
This legal matter stirred up headlines about trouble between Keough and her grandmother, but she insisted there's no drama between them. "Things with Grandma will be happy. They've never not been happy," she said. "There was a bit of upheaval, but now everything's going to be how it was."
Keough called her grandmother "a beautiful woman" who has been "a huge part of creating my grandfather's legacy and Graceland."
"It's very important to her. He was the love of her life. Anything that would suggest otherwise in the press makes me sad because, at the end of the day, all she wants is to love and protect Graceland and the Presley family and the legacy," she continued. "That's her whole life. So, it's a big responsibility she has tried to take on. None of that stuff has really ever been a part of our relationship prior. She's just been my grandma."
