The meaning behind Riley KeoughThe name of ‘s daughter may completely confuse your feelings.
The ‘Daisy Jones & the Six’ star exclusively revealed the name of her first child with her husband, Australian stuntman and actor Ben Smith-Petersen Vanity Fair in a profile published online on Tuesday: Tupelo Storm Smith-Petersen.
The couple quietly welcomed their daughter via surrogate in August 2022, and her middle name is in honor of Keough’s late brother – Benjamin Storm Keough, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 27.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin via Getty Images
“He felt like my twin in a lot of ways,” the actor told the mag. “We were very connected and very similar. He was a lot quicker and funnier and a bit smarter than me.”
She added, “He was a very special soul.”
Keough also used her daughter’s first name to pay tribute to her grandfather — the late and legendary singer Elvis Presley. Tupelo is the Mississippi town where the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was born.
“It’s funny because we picked her name before the ‘Elvis’ movie,” says Keough. “I thought, ‘That’s great, because in terms of my family, it’s not really a household word or name — it’s not like Memphis or anything.”
But it seems Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 biopic has changed that a bit.
“Then when the ‘Elvis’ movie came out, it was tupelo this and tupelo that. I was like, ‘Oh no.’ But it’s okay,” she added.
The “Zola” star and her husband publicly mentioned that they have a daughter for the first time at the funeral of Keough’s mother, Lisa Marie Presley, in January 2023.
Lisa Marie Presley died on January 12 at the age of 54 from complications of a small bowel obstruction.
Jon Kopaloff via Getty Images
At the memorial service for their mother, Smith-Petersen read a eulogy on behalf of his wife.
“I hope I can love my daughter as you loved me, as you loved my brother and sisters,” Keough’s eulogy read in part. “Thank you for giving me strength, my heart, my empathy, my courage, my sense of humor, my manners, my temper, my ferocity, my tenacity. I am a product of your heart.”
Keough also spoke to Vanity Fair about her approach to parenting.
“That’s the one thing in my life so far that I really wanted to get right,” she said. “I don’t think you can ever be a perfect mom, but I want to be the best mom I can be for her.”
