- Lisa Marie Presley was the only daughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley
- She had four kids from two marriages: daughters Riley, Harper, and Finley, and son Benjamin
- She also became a grandmother via daughter Riley, who welcomed a daughter of her own
- Lisa died on Jan. 12, 2023
Lisa Marie Presley, 54, died on Thursday, Jan. 12 hours after she was rushed to the hospital for suffering cardiac arrest. Her death came just days after the only daughter of Priscilla Presley, 77, and the late Elvis Presley walked the red carpet of the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards and gushed over Austin Butler‘s portrayal of The King of Rock and Roll in 2022’s Elvis. While the singer-songwriter was mostly known as Elvis’ daughter, she has four kids who know her as their mom.
Lisa shared four kids with two ex-husbands. She had twin daughters Harper and Finley, who she welcomed in 2008, with ex-husband Michael Lockwood. They were married between 2006 and 2021. She also welcomed a daughter, Riley, and a son, Benjamin, with her ex-husband Danny Keough. Unfortunately, Benjamin died in 2020 at the age of 27, so her three daughters will now inherit Graceland. Riley also welcomed a daughter of her own with husband Ben Smith-Peterson, it was confirmed at Lisa’s memorial, making Lisa Marie a first time grandmother. Read on to learn more about Lisa Marie Presley’s children.
Riley Keough
Riley, Lisa Marie and Danny’s first child, was born on May 29, 1989. She followed in her mother’s footsteps into the entertainment industry and is a successful model and actress. She made her modeling debut in 2004 by walking the runway for Dolce & Gabbana. A few years later, in 2010, she landed her first acting gig in The Runaways, a film that starred Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. She is best known for 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, 2016’s American Honey, and 2017’s Logan Lucky. She also appeared in a 2018 episode of Riverdale.
In May 2022, she made her directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival with her film, War Pony. “I’m very overwhelmed. I haven’t really taken it all in yet,” she told PEOPLE at the time. “It’s been wonderful … we’re just excited.”
In 2007, Riley and her mother appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and explained that Riley was encouraged to explore her own likes and dislikes in an effort to be her own person outside of the famous family. “I didn’t want her to have that shadow where she felt competition and intimidated by anything,” Lisa Marie said. “I wanted [my children] to be able to do what they wanted to do.”
Despite Riley’s push to grow as an individual, she admitted that being a member of the iconic Presley family has its perks. “I’m very privileged,” she told The Guardian in 2017. “Like the normal story of moving to L.A. and it takes you three years to find an agent? I got one in a week.”
However, her childhood wasn’t all luxury. “I grew up very privileged with my mother. But my dad didn’t live like that,” she told the publication. “And I think experiencing both sides has been helpful. My father had mattresses on the floor of his apartments. He lived in cabins and trailer parks. He just didn’t have much money.” Riley didn’t mind roughing it a bit, though. “My memories of growing up with him were so colorful and eccentric and fun,” she noted. “It was a good vibe, you know?
Riley does not have any kids, but she is married. She tied the knot with Australian stuntman Ben Smith-Petersen in 2015.
After the death of her brother, Benjamin, Riley became a death doula, a trained professional that helps others grieve through various forms of death and medical upsets. “Today I finished my Death Doula training, on The Art of Death Midwifery training course by @sacred_crossings so I guess I’m an almost certified death doula now hehe,” she wrote in an Instagram post on March 21, 2021 alongside a motivational quote. “We are taught that its a morbid subject to talk about. Or were so afraid of it that we’re unable to talk about it… then of course it happens to us, and we are very ill prepared.”
“I think it’s so important to be educated on conscious dying and death the way we educate ourselves on birth and conscious birthing,” she continued. “We prepare ourselves so rigorously for the entrance and have no preparation for our exit. So I’m so grateful for this community and to be able to contribute what I can.”
Riley welcomed her own daughter with husband Ben Smith-Petersen at some point in the last year, it was confirmed during Lisa Marie’s Graceland memorial. Ben read a eulogy for his mother-in-law on Riley’s behalf, which made reference to the baby — who Riley was also seemingly photographed with as she arrived in Memphis, TN. “Thank you for showing me that love is the most important things in this life. I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me,” Ben read from the note at the service. A rep for Riley also confirmed the baby news — marking the first grandchild for the late Lisa Marie.
Benjamin Keough
Benjamin Storm Presley Keough was born on Oct. 21, 1992. Aside from being known as one of Elvis’ grandkids, he was often compared to the late rockstar for so closely resembling him. “Ben does look so much like Elvis,” Lisa told CMT in 2012. “He was at the Opry and was the quiet storm behind the stage. Everybody turned around and looked when he was over there. Everybody was grabbing him for a photo because it is just uncanny.”
Unlike his sister, who boasts over 500,000 followers on Instagram, Benjamin kept a very low profile. After his death by suicide in 2020, his friend Brandon Howard revealed what he was like in private. “Sometimes he struggled with depression, which is a serious thing with [the coronavirus pandemic] and everything happening right now and everybody being locked in the house,” he explained to PEOPLE.
He also said that unlike Riley, Benjamin did not thrive being in such a famous family. “That kind of pressure is definitely a part of what happened,” he revealed. “It’s a tough thing when you have a lot of pressure with your family and living up to a name and an image. It’s a lot of pressure. It’s almost like you’re pressured into having to be a musician, having to be an actor. It was good for him to go around the world and discover himself and have his own friends. You never know what triggers it.”
He also described Benjamin as a loyal and caring friend. “He would be the one who would come crash with you on the couch for weeks until you’re actually feeling better,” he noted.
Benjamin is missed immensely by his family, as Riley often shares tributes to him on her social media. In Sept. 2022, Lisa opened up about how “incredibly lonely” she felt after his death in an essay she penned for National Grief Awareness Day. However, she said her 14-year-old twins keep her going. “I keep going for my girls. I keep going because my son made it very clear in his final moments that taking care of his little sisters and looking out for them were on the forefront of his concerns and his mind. He absolutely adored them and they him,” she stated.
Harper And Finley Lockwood
Harper and Finley Lockwood were born on Oct. 7, 2008 to Lisa and her then-husband, Michael. They live their lives almost completely out of the spotlight, although they made their red carpet debut at the 2017 ELLE Women in Hollywood event.
Lisa and her proud mother have spoken about the twins on occasion, and in 2019, Priscilla gushed about their brains. “I can’t believe they are so smart [with technology],” she raved to Us Weekly. “I mean, they can handle the phone better than I can. They know how to Google already, they know how to draw things and characters, and oh, my gosh. They’re just little girls experiencing life and having fun.”
That same year, she said they were very active girls and were taking ballet and opera classes while on the TODAY show.
As of March 2023, Lisa Marie’s ex-husband Michael Lockwood petitioned to become the twins legal guardian amid on-going drama for her estate and control of Graceland. He was granted guardianship on April 13, 2023.