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Lisa Marie Presley died from a cardiac arrest at the age of 54 on January 12, 2023, only five months after penning a heartbreaking essay on grief following the death of her only son, Benjamin Keough, who passed away from suicide two years earlier. “I’ve dealt with death, grief and loss since the age of 9 years old. I’ve had more than anyone’s fair share of it in my lifetime and somehow, I’ve made it this far,” Lisa Marie wrote, per People, referencing the death of her father, rock icon Elvis Presley. “But this one, the death of my beautiful, beautiful son? No. Just no … no no no no …” The message ended on a more hopeful note, however, with Lisa Marie revealing she was working through the pain. With her death, however, Lisa Marie’s remaining children — Riley Keough and twins Harper and Finley Lockwood — had to restart the grieving process.
In July 2020, Benjamin was found dead in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas. At the time, Lisa Marie’s rep told Hollywood Life that “she is completely heartbroken , inconsolable and beyond devastated but trying to stay strong for her 11 year old twins and her oldest daughter Riley.” The rep added, “She adored that boy. He was the love of her life.” The young man’s death would be ruled a suicide after he shot himself in the chest. Find out more about Lisa Marie’s son, below.
He comes from a famous family
Benjamin is the son of Lisa and her ex-husband Danny Keough as well as the grandson of the late Elvis Presley and Priscilla. Elvis remains one of the most successful recording acts of all time, with 149 songs appearing on Billboard’s Hot 100, and 18 number one hits. Ben is second eldest of Lisa’s four kids, and has kept a relatively low profile among his famous clan.
He looked just like Elvis
Benjamin has an uncanny resemblance to The King of Rock N’ Roll, often to the delight of Elvis fans. “Ben does look so much like Elvis. He was at the Opry and was the quiet storm behind the stage,” his proud mom Lisa told CMT in 2012. “Everybody turned around and looked when he was over there. Everybody was grabbing him for a photo because it is just uncanny,” she added.
Lisa wrote a song about Ben
Lisa often dedicated songs to her children, with Ben inspiring her 2012 tune “Storm And Grace.” In the song, she sings about Ben — who was 19 at the time — growing too fast. “Stop moving so fast there, and then take your foot off the gas. My heart can’t seem to take it, your storm and your grace,” croons. She accompanied the song with a beautiful music video featuring family photos.
There were rumors he had record deal
Like his grandfather and mom, Ben was reported to be musical. At just 17, reports surfaced that he had scored a $5 million record deal Universal Records to record up to five albums — however reps for Universal later denied these reports to be true. “This story is totally untrue,” Peter LoFrumento, Executive Vice President of Universal Music Group, said at the time.
His sister is an actress
Ben is the younger brother of Riley Keough, who recently starred in indie horror film The Lodge. She also appeared in romance/mystery Earthquake Bird, and TV series The Girlfriend Experience. Riley married Ben Smith-Petersen in 2015. Ben also has twin half siblings, Finley and Harper, through his mom.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
