Riley Keough’s Husband Reveals Birth of Daughter at Lisa Marie Presley’s Memorial

Sunday was a day of extreme emotions at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Friends and family gathered to pay tribute to Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley who died suddenly earlier this month at the age of 54. But during the service, Ben Smith-Petersen revealed that he and his wife, Lisa Marie’s daughter Riley Keough, had just given birth to a daughter.

Smith-Peterson read a letter written by the 33-year-old Logan Lucky and The Terminal List star, which said in part, “Thank you for showing me love is the only thing that matters in this life. I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, the way you loved my brother and my sisters.” Page Six confirmed with representatives that the couple has, indeed, welcomed a daughter.  

Ben Smith-Petersen is an Australian stuntman, and he and Keough met on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road in 2012. (He played the “Doof Warrior,” the guy who belted out power chords on the electric guitar while shooting fire out of the neck as Immortan Joe’s War Boys raced into battle.) The two have been married since 2015, and this is their first child, and also Priscilla’s first great-grandchild. 

Lisa Marie’s last public appearance was just two days before her demise, at the Golden Globe Awards. She appeared on the red carpet with Austin Butler, the star of Baz Luhrmann’s biopic, Elvis, which was nominated for Best Picture—Drama category. Butler, winning the Best Actor—Drama prize, thanked the entire Presley family in his acceptance speech for “opening your hearts, your memories, your home to me. Lisa Marie, Priscilla, I’ll love you forever.”

In addition to the Keogh and Smith-Peterson news, Lisa Marie Presley’s memorial saw tributes from Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, who read a poem, and musical performances by Alanis Morrissette, Axl Rose, and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins. Lisa Marie’s body will rest at Graceland alongside that of her son, Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020.