Riley Keough welcomed daughter via surrogate and reveals name is tribute to her grandad Elvis Presley
She gave birth last year but decided to keep the news private at the time
Jess Hardiman
Riley Keough has revealed she welcomed a daughter via surrogate, with the name being a touching tribute to her grandad, Elvis Presley.
Keough, who is the daughter of the late Lisa Marie Presley and Danny Keough, gave birth last year, but chose to keep the news private until earlier this year.
The Daisy Jones and the Six star revealed her daughter – her first with husband Ben Smith-Petersen – in August 2022, speaking about becoming a mother during a eulogy for her own mum in January this year.
Speaking during the memorial service, Keough said: “I hope I can love my daughter that way you loved me.
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“The way you love my brother and my sisters. Thank you for giving me strength, my heart, my empathy, my courage, my sense of humor.
“My manners, my temper, my wildness, my tenacity. I’m a product of your heart. My sisters are a product of your heart. My brother is a product of your heart.
“We are you. You are us, my eternal love. I hope you finally know how loved you were here. Thank you for trying so hard for us. If I didn’t tell you every day, thank you.”
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, she has spoken out about how she decided to use a surrogate to carry her child – as well as why her daughter’s name pays tribute to her famous grandfather.
The 34-year-old chose to name her first-born Tupelo Storm Smith-Petersen – the first name of which is a sweet reference to Elvis’ birthplace in Mississippi.
“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,’” Keough told the outlet.
Of course, that plan was scuppered slightly when Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic featured various mentions of the birthplace, but Keough isn't too bothered.
“It's funny because we picked her name before the Elvis movie,” she went on.
“I was like, ‘Oh no,’ But it's fine.”
As for the surrogate route, Keough explained that while she is physically able to carry children, due to her Lyme disease - a bacterial infection spread to humans by infected ticks - she didn’t want to in a bid to avoid potential autoimmune complications.
“I think it's a very cool, selfless, and incredible act that these women do to help other people,” she said.
“I can carry children, but it felt like the best choice for what I had going on physically with the autoimmune stuff.”