Riley Keough Dropped Baby Bombshell at Mom Lisa Marie Presley’s Funeral

Dave M. Benett/amfAR14/WireImage

The death of Lisa Marie Presley left actress Riley Keough without a mother. Tragically, the Presleys also lost Riley’s brother Benjamin Keough to suicide in 2021. But it turns out, the family has also grown. During Lisa Marie’s recent memorial service at Graceland, Riley and her husband Ben Smith-Petersen made a shocking announcement: the couple secretly welcomed a daughter last year.

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Riley Keough’s Family

Riley Keough was born in 1989 to Lisa Marie Presley and the Chicago musician Danny Keough. Her brother Benjamin was born in 1992, but their parents divorced soon after. As mom Lisa Marie continued with a string of high-profile husbands like Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage, the Keough kids were raised between Hawaii and Los Angeles. They also spent ample time at the Presleys’ Graceland Estate in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a rock-and-roll upbringing.

Riley began modeling as a teen and made her film debut in 2010, playing punk icon Marie Currie in The Runaways. She’s also acted in Mad Max: Fury RoadAmerican Honey, and The Girlfriend Experience, in which she played a grad-student-turned-escort. Each project earned Keough further acclaim, but her amusing turn in the stripper drama Zola served as the actress’ true breakthrough in 2021. She also stars in the forthcoming Amazon series Daisy Jones and the Six.

As Riley achieved fame, though, there was family tragedy. In 2020, her brother Benjamin took his own life. It was devastating for all the Presley’s and Keough’s and just months ago, Lisa Marie shared a heart-wrenching essay with People about the experience.

Riley Keough and Benjamin Keough via express.co.uk

In addition to Benjamin, Riley also has two more siblings through her mother: twins Harper and Finley Lockwood. Those girls are now 14 years old. In the wake of Lisa Marie’s death, full custody was awarded to their father, the guitarist Michael Lockwood.

In 2015, Riley also began building a family of her own when she married Ben Smith-Petersen. Smith-Peterson, an Australian stuntman, met the actress on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road. And, as the couple revealed at Lisa Marie’s funeral, their family now includes a baby daughter! Some happy news amidst all the grief.

The Funeral of Lisa Marie Presley

The grave of Lisa Marie Presley via Commercial Appeal

Lisa Marie Presley died of cardiac arrest on January 12, 2023. She was 54 years old. A celebrity all her life, the world mourned her premature death. Roughly a week later, her public funeral took place on the lawn of the Presleys’ famed Graceland estate: “A Celebration of the Life of Lisa Marie Presley.” Roughly 5,000 people attended.

The Memphis event included gospel numbers, musical performances by stars like c and Axl Rose, and speeches by friends and family, including Priscilla Presley and Ben Smith-Petersen, Riley Keough’s husband. Smith-Peterson spoke on his wife’s behalf, tearfully presenting a first-person message from Riley entitled “A Letter to My Mama.” It read:

Ben Smith-Petersen speaks via Commercial Appeal

“Thank you for being my mother in this life. I am eternally grateful to have spent 33 years with you. I’m certain I chose the best mother for me in this world and I knew that as far back as I can remember you…

“I remember everything. I remember you giving me baths as a baby, I remember you driving me in my car seat listening to Aretha Franklin. I remember the way you’d cuddle me when I’d come into your bed at night and the way you smelled. … I remember you singing me and my brother lullabies at night and how you’d lay with us until you fell asleep. I remember how it felt to be loved by the most loving mother I’ve ever known…

“I remember how safe it felt to be in our arms. I remember that feeling as a child and I remember it two weeks ago on your couch,” the Australia native said. “Thank you for showing me that love is the only thing that matters in this life. I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, the way you loved my brother and my sisters…

“Thank you for giving me strength, my heart, my empathy, my courage, my sense of humor, my manners, my temper, my wildness, my tenacity,” Smith-Petersen concluded his wife’s speech on Sunday. “I’m a product of your heart, my sisters are a product of your heart, my brother is a product of your heart. We are you, you are us, my eternal love. I hope you finally know how loved you were here. Thank you for trying so hard for us. If I didn’t tell you every day, thank you.”

— From Riley Keough’s “A Letter to My Mama,” transcript via Us Weekly

Like her father Elvis Presley and her son Benjamin Keough, Lisa Marie Presley was interred at Graceland. She is buried across from her father in the Meditation Garden.

A New Baby

Ben Smith-Petersen and Riley Keough via pinkvilla.com

Lisa Marie Presley’s funeral was a massive, emotional event. But one line in Riley Keough’s letter stood out amongst all the commotion at Graceland: “I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, the way you loved my brother and my sisters.”

This is the first the public has ever heard about Riley Keough’s baby. Presumably, no one outside her inner circle even knew she’d been pregnant! Following the service, a rep for the couple confirmed to People indeed they did welcome a baby girl in 2022 — but no further information was revealed. Stay tuned, Elvis fans.

READ MORE: Riley Keough Honors ‘Loving’ Mom Lisa Marie Presley: ‘I’m a Product of Your Heart

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