Riley Keough Reveals Her Daughter’s Name Is a Nod to Her Late Brother Benjamin

Riley Keough has revealed that her daughter’s name is a nod to her late brother, Benjamin. During a conversation with Vanity Fair, Keough opened up about being a mom to her daughter Tupelo Storm Smith-Petersen, who she shares with her husband Ben Smith-Petersen. The baby girl was born via surrogate in August 2022.

“I think it’s a very cool, selfless, and incredible act that these women do to help other people,” Keough said of surrogacy, “I can carry children, but it felt like the best choice for what I had going on physically with the autoimmune stuff.” Notably, Tupelo, Mississippi was the birthplace of Keough’s iconic grandfather, Elvis, but the actress revealed, “It’s funny because we picked her name before the . I was like, ‘This is great because it’s not really a well-known word or name in relation to my family-it’s not like Memphis or something.” 

She laughed and then said, “Then when the Elvis movie came out, it was like, Tupelo this and Tupelo that. I was like, ‘Oh, no.’ But it’s fine.” Notably, the baby’s middle name is an homage to Keough’s late brother, Benjamin Storm Keough, who died three years ago.

Benjamin died in July 2020 in Calabasas, California. His cause of death was determined to have been a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 27 years old at the time of his death. The manager for their mother, Lisa Marie Presley, issued an initial statement at the time, saying that Presley was “completely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated but trying to stay strong for her 11-year-old twins and her oldest daughter, Riley.” The statement went on to say that “she adored that boy,” and that he “was the love of her life.”

In her first comments after her brother’s death, Keough wrote in an Instagram post, “Mornings are the hardest. I forget you’re gone. I can’t cry because of the fear that I will never stop. A pain that’s new to me. You. There are no words for you. Angel is the closest I could think of.” She then went on to refer to him as “Pure light. Baby brother. Best friend. Wild man. Intellectual. Witness to my life. Twin soul. Protector. Too sensitive for this harsh world.”

Keough continued, “I hope you give me strength to endure the giant hole you’ve left in my heart. I hope you give me the strength to eat. I hope you’re cradled in love. I hope you feel my love. I hope you feel god. You are god. I can’t believe you’ve left me. Not you sweet Ben Ben. Anyone but you. I guess this is true heartbreak. I hope we meet again.”