A Guide to the Presley Family: Riley Keough, Priscilla Presley & More

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No one predicted a lawsuit claiming Riley Keough is the biological mother of John Travolta’s son, Benjamin, would surface in 2025.

Actress Jay Kelly’s grandmother, Priscilla Presley, immediately dismissed claims of a family connection. These claims arose in legal papers filed by Brigitte Kruse, who has been involved in a year-long lawsuit with the 80-year-old Presley.

Priscilla Presley’s lawyers stated on December 17th that the people suing her and those working with them will stop at nothing – even crossing ethical boundaries – to harm her and her family, according to a statement to TMZ.

In court documents, Brigitte claims that Priscilla’s former son-in-law, Michael Lockwood, told her Riley had previously donated eggs to John Travolta and his wife, Kelly Preston—whose son, Jett Travolta, passed away in 2009 at age 16—receiving an old Jaguar and between $10,000 and $20,000 in return.

John Travolta, who shared his 25-year-old daughter Ella Bleu with his late wife, hasn’t yet spoken publicly about the news. His wife, Kelly, passed away from breast cancer in 2020. They had described the birth of their son, Ben, in November 2010, as a wonderful surprise and a blessing.

The Presley family has also experienced several tragic losses, most notably the unexpected death of Elvis Presley at just 42 years old in 1977.

After Lisa Marie Presley passed away in 2023, her daughter Riley became responsible for Graceland, the famous Memphis home of Elvis Presley. Both Elvis, his daughter Lisa Marie, and his parents are all buried there.

Even though Riley never had the chance to meet her grandfather, who passed away when her mother, Lisa Marie, was nine years old, she was famously presented to the world as Elvis Presley’s first grandchild on the cover of People magazine in 1989.

Riley kept her pregnancy and the birth of her child private until her mother’s funeral. During the service, her husband, Ben Smith-Petersen, read a eulogy in which Riley expressed her hope to be as loving a mother as her own had been, saying, “I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, the way you loved my brother and my sisters.”

Riley Keough, the star of Daisy Jones & the Six, recognizes how deeply her background—and the backgrounds of her parents—have shaped who she is today.

Riley, a mother of two, shared on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast in December 2024 that she’s always been deeply interested in her family history. She explained that she knows a lot about her parents and grandparents, and this curiosity existed long before her connection to Elvis Presley became known. It’s simply something that’s always been a part of who she is, stemming from both sides of her family.

Because people remain interested in Riley Keough’s family history, here’s a look at the Presley family tree.

Elvis Presley was one of the most popular musicians ever. Even after his death in 1977 at age 42, he remained a huge star. He died from heart problems, which were made worse by his use of prescription drugs.

In 1959, while serving in the U.S. Army in West Germany, 23-year-old Elvis Presley met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu. Though Priscilla has said their relationship remained mostly innocent until she turned 18, she eventually moved to Memphis to finish school. Officially, she lived with Elvis’s father, Vernon Presley, and stepmother, Dee Presley, but she spent the majority of her time at Graceland.

Elvis and Priscilla Presley were married on May 1, 1967, in Las Vegas at the Aladdin hotel. Their daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, was born on February 1, 1968, just nine months later.

Priscilla, who married Elvis Presley at age 21, shared in a 2021 interview with People how much she enjoyed caring for him. She described lovingly tending to his needs and feeding him, explaining they even developed a private ‘baby talk’ to communicate amidst the constant presence of others. Despite the unusual circumstances, she remembered it as a fulfilling and unique life they shared together.

Elvis and his wife separated in February 1972, and their marriage officially ended with a divorce the next year. He later explained during a Las Vegas performance that the reason for the split was simply that he was constantly traveling and away from home.

As a family expert, I’ve always admired how Priscilla Presley prioritized stability for Lisa Marie, even amidst change. When Lisa Marie and I moved to Los Angeles, we still made regular trips back to Graceland. As I shared with People magazine back in 1978, maintaining that connection was so important for Lisa – we made sure there was always a peaceful, loving atmosphere at home, free from conflict. It really helped her feel grounded and secure.

Priscilla Presley was heartbroken when Elvis died on August 16, 1977. In her 1985 memoir, Elvis and Me, she explained she couldn’t accept that she would never see him alive again. She described a deep connection with him, saying they both relied on each other and shared a special bond.

Lisa Marie, 9 years old at the time, was at Graceland when her father died.

In her 2024 memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, the author shared her lifelong fear of losing her father. She recalled instances where he seemed unwell or even passed out, which deeply worried her. As a child, she expressed this fear in a poem, writing, ‘I hope my daddy doesn’t die.’

And the day he passed, she noted in the book, “my life as I knew it is completely over.”

Lisa Marie Presley later pursued her own music career, releasing her first album, To Whom It May Concern, in 2003.

I’ve always been fascinated by her life, and I remember when she married Danny Keough back in 1988. They had two wonderful children, Riley and Benjamin, and I was so happy for them. Sadly, they eventually divorced in 1994, which was really heartbreaking for all of us who followed their story.

Lisa Marie Presley married Michael Jackson on May 26, 1994, just weeks after her divorce was completed. Though their highly publicized marriage only lasted under two years, Lisa Marie later told Oprah Winfrey—in 2010, a year after Jackson’s death—that they continued to have an on-again, off-again relationship for years and that she had never felt such a strong connection with anyone else.

Lisa Marie married Nicolas Cage, a dedicated Elvis fan, in August 2002. Though he filed for divorce just three months later, in November of the same year, the divorce wasn’t completed until May 2004.

The actor announced he wouldn’t discuss their split, but shared that he still cared for Lisa Marie. She responded at the time, saying she was upset, but acknowledged the marriage was a mistake and they shouldn’t have gotten married.

When Lisa Marie married musician Michael Lockwood in January 2006, her ex-husband Danny surprisingly served as best man. They later had twin daughters, Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood and Finley Aaron Love Lockwood, in 2008.

Lisa Marie and her husband separated in 2016, and the divorce became complicated. During this time, her twin daughters lived with Priscilla Presley. The divorce was officially completed in May 2021.

Lisa Marie Presley passed away on January 12, 2023, at the age of 54. Her death was caused by a blockage in her small intestine, a complication from previous weight-loss surgery. This happened just two days after she attended the Golden Globes to support the film Elvis, which starred Austin Butler as Elvis Presley and was directed by Baz Luhrmann.

Priscilla Presley and her then-partner, Marco Garibaldi Garcia, welcomed their son, Navarone, on March 1, 1987. Like his half-sister, Marco is a musician and the frontman for the Los Angeles band, Them Guns.

He married his longtime partner, Elisa Achilli, in 2022 at a luxurious hotel in Switzerland—a beautifully restored 16th-century castle.

Priscilla shared with People magazine that they had been a couple for four years and everyone was excited to see this finally happen.

Born on May 29, 1989, to Lisa Marie and Danny Keough, Riley is a model, singer, and actress. She’s known for her roles in projects like The Girlfriend Experience, Daisy Jones & the Six, Magic Mike, and Logan Lucky. Following her mother’s passing, she inherited full ownership of Graceland.

She also worked to finish the memoir Lisa Marie Presley had started, explaining to People magazine when it was published in 2024 that her goal was to show the real person behind the public image. She hoped to portray Lisa Marie as a complex and fully realized individual—a devoted mother, a free spirit, a loyal friend, a talented but overlooked artist, and someone who experienced the full spectrum of human emotion throughout her extraordinary life—including joy, sorrow, and trauma.

Riley married stuntman Ben Smith-Petersen in 2015. They have two children: Tupelo Storm, born in August 2022 through surrogacy, and another child born in early 2025.

Benjamin tragically took his own life in July 2020 at the age of 27. Following his death, a spokesperson for Lisa Marie Presley shared that she was utterly heartbroken and devastated, but determined to remain strong for her twins and daughter, Riley.

Lisa Marie openly shared her feelings about grief, once writing in an essay for People that you never truly get over loss, but learn to live with it. The full extent of her pain became even clearer after her passing.

In her memoir, she shared that after her son Benjamin passed away, she kept his body on dry ice at her home near Los Angeles for two months before she could say goodbye. He was finally buried at Graceland in October 2020.

Lisa Marie was buried next to her son less than three years after his death.

Born on October 7, 2008, Harper and Finley live a quiet life with their father, Michael, who became their guardian after their mother, Lisa Marie, passed away.

Finley and Harper, Lisa Marie’s teenage children, rarely post on Instagram, but they recently honored their mother on the second anniversary of her passing in 2025. Finley shared a childhood photo of herself and her sister with their mom on her Instagram Story, writing, “2 years…i love you always.” Harper posted a picture from when they were toddlers, saying, “I can’t believe it’s been 2 years. I miss you and love you so much mama.”

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2025-12-19 01:18