After Lisa Marie Presley’s death in 2023, her eldest daughter, Riley Keough, picked up where she left off and completed her memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown.
In the leadup to the book’s October 2024 release, Keough spoke publicly about her mom for the first time since Presley’s death, opening up about her mom’s struggles with grief and the love the two shared, even through tough times.
The only child of Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie married Danny Keough in 1988. The two later welcomed Riley and son Benjamin, who died in 2020. They divorced in 1994. After marriages to Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage, Lisa Marie married Michael Lockwood in 2006. They share fraternal twin daughters, Harper and Finley, who were born in 2008.
Riley and Lisa Marie remained close up until the latter’s death, with the two even seeing each other just days before Lisa Marie died after suffering cardiac arrest at her home.
Keep scrolling to learn more about the bond between Elvis’ eldest granddaughter and his only child:
Riley Split Time Living with Lisa Marie and Danny
Lisa Marie and Danny divorced when Riley was only 5, and she split her time between her two parents. She described Lisa Marie’s lifestyle as “very privileged,” even living at Neverland Ranch while her mother was married to Jackson.
Riley made her red carpet debut alongside her mother in 2002 at the Lilo & Stitch premiere and appeared at events throughout her childhood.
Her life with Danny, on the other hand, was more low-key.
“I think experiencing both sides has been helpful,” she told The Guardian in 2017. “My father had mattresses on the floor of his apartments. He lived in cabins and trailer parks. He just didn’t have much money.”
Lisa Marie Supported Her Daughter’s Decision to Go Into Acting
Lisa Marie did her best to shield her kids from the tabloids (“I didn’t see a tabloid until I was 15,” Riley told Nylon in 2016). But when Riley decided she wanted to act, Lisa Marie was supportive.
Riley’s first major role came in 2006 with Magic Mike. More recently, she has had roles in series Daisy Jones & The Six and Under the Bridge. Throughout her career, Riley found inspiration in her mom.
“I was raised by somebody who did their own thing and didn’t really care what other people thought,” she told People shortly before Lisa Marie’s death. “She was definitely inspirational to me.”
Riley Stayed by Her Mom’s Side After Brother Ben’s Death
Ben died by suicide in 2020, consuming Lisa Marie with grief. Riley moved in with her mom at that point, staying by her side for six months. As Riley revealed, Lisa Marie kept Ben’s body on dry ice in her California home for “months” as a way to process her grief.
“On paper, I could see how this sounds completely insane and absurd,” Riley said, “but my mom was just very much herself. … You know, she wasn’t a crazy lady.”
Riley and Lisa Marie also got tattoos in Ben’s honor. They even invited the tattoo artist to see Ben’s body to get familiar with what his tattoos, honoring Riley and Lisa Marie, looked like.
Riley Felt a Duty to Finish Lisa Marie’s Memoir
Lisa Marie died before she could finish her memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown.
“It just felt like a kind of a duty that I had to complete for her,” Keough told the Associated Press. “I’m just happy that it’s done and that it’ll be in the world and there for people to read.”
Named as a nod to the lyrics of Lisa Marie’s song “Where No One Stands Alone,” the memoir details the singer’s life “at her most vulnerable and most honest,” according to Riley.
In order to accurately convey her mom’s thoughts, Riley listened to hours of recordings from Lisa Marie, in which she touched on the brightest and darkest moments of her life. She talked about losing her father when she was just 9 years old, her marriage to Jackson and Ben’s death. She also opened up about her struggles with addiction, which escalated after the birth of her twins.
Riley Watched Lisa Marie Endure Opioid Addiction
Lisa Marie revealed in her memoir that at the height of her addiction, she was taking 80 pills a day.
“It took more and more to get high, and I honestly don’t know when your body decides it can’t deal with it anymore,” she wrote. “But it does decide this at some point.”
Lisa Marie had a “brief stint” with drugs as a teenager before the problem presented itself again after giving birth to twins. She eventually sought help and did not relapse, even after Ben’s death. Riley recalled the warnings her mom would give her about using drugs.
“Throughout my life she would often say ‘if I tried drugs, it would be over for me.’ I see now that that was such a strong hint to an addiction issue she had an intuition about,” Riley wrote in the memoir.
Riley Remembered Lisa Marie as the ‘Best Mom’
In a cover story for Vanity Fair, Riley thought back to the last time she spent with her mom. The two had dinner following a party for the movie Elvis, and Riley said the strongest memory she had of that night was “how beautiful she looked.” Lisa Marie died days later.
Asked what she wanted people to remember about her mother, she said it was how Lisa Marie was “unapologetically herself.”
“People were just coming for her since she was born — wanting something from her and not being totally authentic,” Riley said. “She had to develop very thick skin. She was a very powerful presence and extremely loving and extremely loyal and sort of a lioness — a fierce woman, and a really wonderful mother. I think that would be my summary because I’m her daughter. She was the best mom.”
