Elvis Presley’s granddaughter ignored mother Lisa Marie’s warnings about showbiz

Riley Keough has a unique story when it comes to her fame.

The ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ actress, 35, is the daughter of singer Danny Keough and the late Lisa Marie Presley, and although she was born after his death, she is the granddaughter of Elvis Presley.

In a new interview with Elle UKKeough explained that after her parents learned of her ambitions to become an artist, they tried to talk her out of it – although they were clearly unsuccessful.

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Riley Keough was warned by her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, that she would not enter show business. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)

“I felt like I was doing something that could go terribly wrong,” she recalled, recalling Lisa Marie telling her, “If you’re going to do this, you have to be so good at what you do, otherwise no one will do that. If I take you seriously, you won’t get a job and that will be embarrassing.”

“I’m sure being Elvis’ granddaughter made it easier for me to get an agent, to have meetings and all that stuff, when I started out.”

–Riley Keough

She added, “You don’t want to be an embarrassing celebrity kid!” She instilled that so deeply in me and my brother.”

Keough grew up with younger brother Benjamin, who died of suicide in 2020. She also has two little sisters: twins Harper and Finley, whom Lisa Marie welcomed in 2008 with her fourth husband, guitarist Michael Lockwood.

Lisa Marie Presley laughs with her four children, Riley and Benjamin Keough and Finley Aaron Love and Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood. (Lisa Marie Presley Instagram)

While Keough has clearly avoided the trap of being “an embarrassing celebrity kid,” she has an impressive list of credits to her name since her first acting gig in 2010. “The Runaways”, she admitted that her famous family gave her a competitive edge.

“I’m sure being Elvis’ granddaughter made it easier for me to get an agent, to have meetings and all that stuff, when I started out,” she said. “I know there’s so much nepo-baby stuff going on right now (and) I definitely recognize that aspect of the privilege of being where I come from. I’m not an idiot! I’m aware of the privilege in an acute way.”

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Riley is the granddaughter of Elvis Presley. (Getty Images)

But that advantage doesn’t mean she didn’t also try her best.

Keough started working as a model at the age of 14 and made her debut in a Dolce and Gabbana show at Milan Fashion Week in 2004. Last year she said Vanity fair“My whole life has been pretty public, but I think this probably felt like the first time I did something on my own, as opposed to a family thing.”

She continued to model for the next few years, walking in fashion shows and landing on the cover of magazines such as Vogue and France’s L’Officiel – her very first magazine cover was for People, an article on “Elvis’ first grandchild” when she was one month old.

Riley Keough at Milan Fashion Week in 2004. (PAOLO COCCO/AFP via Getty Images)

From there, she shifted her focus to acting and began her career path starring opposite Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning in ‘The Runaways’.

She played a stripper Channing Tatum 2012 film ‘Magic Mike’, and she has also worked on critically acclaimed indie projects such as 2016’s ‘The Girlfriend Experience’.

In addition to her acting work – she has earned more than 40 credits over the past fourteen years – she also owns a production company called Felix Culpa with friend Gina Gammell.

She told Vogue that she was born a hard worker. When Vanity Fair asked her where she got her work ethic, she said, “Not from my parents. From no one in my family. I came straight out of the womb.”

Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough seen at the Warner Bros. premiere of “Mad Max: Fury Road” on Thursday, May 7, 2015 in Los Angeles. (Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)

She continued: “I think we are half nature, half nurture. I was by nature someone who was very punctual and hardworking and wanted to do things. My upbringing was very different from that. It was very unplanned: sometimes we go to school, sometimes not. That’s what I was used to, so I lived my teenage and childhood years as if that was what I wanted. I’m definitely an adventurous and spontaneous person, but I thrive on routine. My parents said that when I was little , very much tried to organize things and make things happen.”

Last year, Keough starred in a limited series on Amazon called “Daisy Jones and the Six.” Her work in the musical drama about a fictional rock band was critically acclaimed, and Reese Witherspoon, who served as executive producer on the project, succinctly explained Keough’s unique experience.

Riley Keough was praised for her performance in the limited series “Daisy Jones & The Six.” (Getty Images)

“Despite all the money and trappings that seem to facilitate an easier life, that is a very, very challenging life,” Witherspoon told Vanity Fair. “To be under constant scrutiny and still rise to the top and still perform at the highest level… I’m really in awe of her to the extent that she challenged herself. Because she didn’t have to.”

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Although Keough’s work in the entertainment industry has, for better or worse, been influenced by her family’s legacy, she shared with Elle that she believes it is easier to be Elvis’ granddaughter than for her mother to be his daughter.

“I think in her case, which is not always the case, the fact that she is the daughter of someone so famous and iconic made it very difficult for her to build a career, but also to be someone to be standing all the way from there,” she explained about Lisa Marie, who died from a intestinal obstruction – a complication of an old bariatric operation – last year.

Lisa Marie Presley was Elvis’s only child. (Getty Images)

“Her whole identity was Elvis’ daughter,” she said. “And she happened to be one who did not enjoy these things; the fame and attention for her.’

With the death of Lisa Marie, Elvis’ only child, and her brother BenjaminKeough has taken on the responsibility of maintaining the legacy of the Presley family, along with her grandmother, Priscilla Presley.

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She is the sole manager of the Graceland estate, Elvis’ former home in Memphis, Tennessee. She also worked on completing Lisa Marie’s memoir, “From Here to the Great Unknown,” which was published earlier this month.

Riley Keough was working on completing her mother’s memoir, “From Here to the Great Unknown.” (Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)

At another point in the interview, Keough said of her mother, “The most heartbreaking thing for me growing up was watching this woman, who I could tell wanted love and friendship so deeply, really struggle to to find it. That’s common at that level of fame. It’s different being Elvis’ daughter than being someone else’s daughter, I guess. That’s not to say she hasn’t had some great friendships and relationships in her life; it was just always a struggle.”

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