Given Elvis Presley's immense fame and enormous talent, it only makes sense that his fans would also become fans of his family, watching and waiting to see what future generations might accomplish. Thanks to Elvis' estate, his ex-wife and child never had to want for anything, but money wasn't the only thing Presley provided them.
It turns out music pretty much runs in the family, and while Riley Keough's younger siblings are a fair bit behind her in starting their careers, Riley herself has made a splash in film and music, and she credits it to her late grandfather.
Riley Keough Is Priscilla And Elvis' Only Child
Fans of Elvis Presley have likely followed his family for many years, and know that despite his divorce from Priscilla, Elvis never had more children (at least, not that we know of). Priscilla and Elvis welcomed their daughter Lisa Marie Presley in 1968. Priscilla later had a second child, Navarone Garibaldi, with her second husband.
Lisa Marie would later raise a family of her own; she had two kids with Danny Keough, Riley and Benjamin, and two more (twins Harper and Finley) with Michael Lockwood.
Sadly, Lisa Marie's son Benjamin took his own life in 2020 after a struggle with depression.
The oldest child of the four, Riley Keough was quickly pulled into family drama after her mother's passing, as her grandmother seemingly battled her granddaughter over Elvis' estate.
Lisa Marie's daughters (all three) stand to inherit Graceland, and given that Riley is much older than her sisters, many fans have wondered about her connection to her grandfather.
Did Riley Keough Ever Meet Her Grandfather Elvis Presley?
Checking dates proves to fans that Riley Keough never met her late grandfather Elvis Presley. Riley was born in 1989, and Elvis Presley passed away in 1977. Given that Riley was born more than a decade after her grandfather died, they clearly never met in person, but that doesn't mean Riley hasn't been influenced by her heritage.
Fans of the actress already know that she has appeared in Daisy Jones & The Six where she plays a singer in a '70s band. Interestingly, the role cast Keough into her grandfather's music era, something that pretty much felt like home to her.
In a chat with Stephen Colbert, Keough said she even had a premonition that she would get the role. When Stephen asked whether she had inherited her late grandfather's talent, she affirmed she had, saying, "Well, I think that I'm musical, I have an ear, I can carry a tune but music wasn't my sort of thing."
I've listened to music and my whole family are musicians and I've been around this world a lot and been on tour and all that kind of stuff.
Yet music wasn't her default passion, she explained, "I was always more interested in film and acting and writing and filmmaking. I had to work really hard at it actually. It was a challenge."
Of course, her lack of interest in music didn't necessarily mean she wouldn't fall into it anyway. Riley noted that she had agreed to tour because of her contract with Daisy Jones & The Six, and that also led her to release an album.
Keough doesn't think she's following in her grandfather's footsteps though, cautioning, "I certainly wouldn't put that pressure on it. I don't know if there is continuing my grandfather's legacy, [music is] its own sort of thing to me."
What Did Riley Keough Think Of The Elvis Movie?
Fans of Elvis Presley were thrilled when Austin Butler took on the role of the late artist, and even Elvis' family members praised the actor's rendition of the King. Although Riley Keough never met her grandfather, she didn't give rave reviews of past films that portrayed him.
In fact, she called past movies "caricatures" of Elvis, crediting Austin Butler with capturing Presley's "humanity." Riley confessed that she was "in tears for a week because of the film, but also because of [Austin's] performance."
Keough gushed of the film, "I think he was outstanding and incredible. I couldn't have imagined anyone being able to pull off what he did in terms of embodying my grandfather. It was really shocking and emotional. It totally blew me away."
Why Wasn't Riley Keough In The Elvis Movie?
Because she's an actress with musical talent, not to mention looks a lot like her mom and grandma, many fans wondered why Riley Keough didn't appear in the Elvis biopic. It turns out she was never asked to, but that wasn't necessarily a problem.
Riley was "not asked" to appear in the movie, noted Indie Wire, but she also wouldn't have accepted a role anyway. Keough said it was "a little too close" to act in the film, and that she wasn't interested and that "there was a boundary there that felt respected in a nice way."
And while her mom and grandma were involved in talks with Baz Luhrmann ahead of the project, it doesn't sound like Riley was closely involved, leaving the final film as a big, emotional reveal.
