Thanks to movies like American Honey and her recent Emmy Award-nominated role in Daisy Jones & The Six, actress Riley Keough is very much a star in her own right. Due to her various roles in indie movies and her surname, many fans of Keough’s work may be completely unaware that Riley is the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, one of the 20th century’s most iconic figures and the renowned “King of Rock and Roll.”
Riley is the daughter of musician Danny Keough and the late Lisa Marie Presley, the only daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley (née Beaulieu). Riley had one brother, Benjamin Storm Keough, who died in 2020 at the age of 27.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Riley revealed that she and husband Ben Smith-Petersen are new parents to the next generation of the famous family. Their daughter, named Tupelo Storm Smith-Petersen, was born via surrogate in Aug. 2022. Given the vast public interest surrounding the Presley family, it’s no surprise that Riley has been protective of her daughter’s privacy.
How does the name Tupelo Storm relate to Elvis Presley?
The name Tupelo is derived from the city of Tupelo, Mississippi, where Riley’s grandfather Elvis Presley was born. Presley was born in 1935 to Vernon and Gladys Love Presley, and had an older twin brother named Jesse Garon Presley, who was stillborn. The Presley family resided in Tupelo until they moved to Memphis in 1948, when Elvis was 13. Elvis’ childhood in Tupelo and exposure to the music in the city’s African-American neighbourhoods were instrumental in shaping the singer’s musical style.
Tupelo’s middle name, Storm, is likely inspired by RIley’s brother, Benjamin Storm, as a tribute to Tupelo’s late uncle.