Riley Keough Honors Lisa Marie Presley By Posting Tender Mother-Daughter Throwback Photo

Jan 23, 2023 by apost team

Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of suicide that may be troubling for some readers.

Riley Keough was born to Lisa Marie Presley, the only daughter of rock and roll megastar Elvis Presley and his wife, Priscilla Presley. Riley’s father is Danny Keough, a musician Lisa Marie married in 1988 at the age of 21. The pair had two children – Riley, born in 1989, and her brother Benjamin, born in 1992.

However, Lisa Marie divorced Danny in 1994 and, 20 days later, married pop star Michael Jackson. Two years later, Lisa Marie filed for divorce from Jackson. In 2002, Lisa Marie wed actor Nicolas Cage and the couple stayed married for just three months before they, too, split. In January 2006, Lisa Marie married guitarist and producer Michael Lockwood. Her first husband, Danny, whom Lisa Marie had remained close to even after their breakup, served as the best man at her fourth wedding. Lisa Marie had two children with Lockwood, giving Riley two half-siblings in the form of fraternal twins, Harper and Finley. 

Riley’s childhood was filled with frequent changes, excitement and a measure of instability. As her mother lived a vivacious and thrilling life, Riley grew up in various cities, some days finding herself in the rooms of Graceland or the halls of Neverland. She also split her time between her mother and father, who lived in Hawaii.

As Riley grew older, she began pursuing a career in modeling before pivoting to acting. Although she was fearful of failure, she was encouraged by her famous mother to follow her passions and commit to them 100%. Read on to find out how the mother-and-daughter duo got on and the difficulties they endured along the way.

As the granddaughter of Elvis, Riley knows what it’s like to be in the spotlight. With her granddad, mother and father all having made inroads in the music industry, one would have thought Riley would follow the same road. However, Keough instead pursued another avenue in the entertainment business and has since found success along the way.

Born on May 29, 1989, in Santa Monica, California, Riley’s life took a tumultuous turn at the age of 6, when her parents divorced. While she admitted her life with her mother, Lisa Marie, was comfortable, she also appreciated the less luxurious lifestyle of her musician father, Danny. 

“I grew up very privileged with my mother,” she told The Guardian and added: “But my dad didn’t live like that. And I think experiencing both sides has been helpful.”

By 15, she was running the catwalks for top fashion houses before steadily building a name in acting for herself with well-received turns in films such as “The Runaways,” “Magic Mike,” “Mad Max: Fury Road” “Logan Lucky” and “Zola.” Despite being lauded for her natural onscreen charm, Riley admitted she was initially plagued by the fear of being seen as a “nepo baby.”

“I grew up with my mom saying, ‘Anything you do in life, you’re going to have to take it seriously, and work really hard at it, and be really good at it. Don’t just dip your toes into things,’” she told InStyle magazine. “Which is my nature anyway, with acting and with things I want to be doing. I also had this thing where, when you grow up in L.A. and everyone's acting, I felt this sense of, oh gosh ... I was a little bit afraid to fail.”

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However, tragedy would hit on July 14, 2020, when it was reported Riley's brother, Benjamin, had passed away at the age of 27 after being found with a gunshot wound in his upper torso, believed to be self-inflicted. Three years later, Keough would suffer another blow with the passing of their mother on Jan. 12, 2023.

While Riley’s life may have seen more losses of close loved ones than most at such a young age, she always remembers them and pays tribute to their memory in touching ways.

On Oct. 21, 2022, Riley posted a tribute to her brother on Instagram with a picture of them as children and a caption that read: “You would be 30 today. Happy Birthday my best friend, my angel. This world is strange without you❤️”

On the anniversary of his passing, she posted a photo of them together at her wedding in 2015, and captioned the post: “Not an hour goes by where I don’t think of you and miss you. It’s been two years today since you left and I still can’t believe you’re not here. You are so loved my Ben Ben. ❤️” 

Following her mother’s passing, Riley posted a beautiful photo on Instagram of her and Lisa Marie together as a loving tribute to the bond between mother and daughter that can never be broken. The black-and-white photo showed a young Lisa Marie looking down adoringly at Riley, who was holding a bouquet of flowers. Riley captioned the photo with a simple red heart emoji.

A memorial service for Lisa Marie was held at Graceland, her father’s former residence, on Jan. 22, 2023. She was laid to rest next to her son, Benjamin, in Graceland’s Meditation Garden, the final resting place of Elvis, his parents, Vernon and Gladys, and his grandmother Minnie Mae.

What are your thoughts on Riley’s touching tribute to her mother? Do you feel for her and the losses she has had to bear in recent years? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on to friends and family, too.

If you or anybody you know is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, please visit Find A Helpline | Free emotional support in 130+ countries to find your local suicide prevention hotline. The hotlines provides 24/7, free and confidential support for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.