Meet Riley Keough, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter – she modelled for Dior before acting and directing, and ‘loved’ stepdad Michael Jackson, but why didn’t she act in the Elvis biopic?

Jun 15 , 2022

Riley Keough poses for photographers at the photo call for the her film directorial debut, War Pony, at the 75th international film festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 21. Photo: Invision/AP

The 33-year-old multi-hyphenate was inspired by Nicole Kidman to get into acting, starring in films like The Runaways with Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart

She just made her directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival with War Pony, and was a teen model for Dolce & Gabbana – thanks to her famous Presley surname

While the biopic of the king of rock ‘n’ roll is just around the corner, coming out on June 24, his oldest granddaughter, Riley Keough, also made her directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival at the same time Elvis premiered there. Her film War Pony, co-directed with Gina Gammell, is about two young Native American boys growing up on a reservation.

US director and actress Riley Keough waves as she arrives for the screening of her film War Pony at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 21. Photo: AFP

Although Keough, 33, followed neither her legendary grandfather nor her parents, singer Lisa Marie Presley and musician Danny Keough, into the music industry, she has also made her own name in showbiz. And she planned it all when she was a kid.

Directors Riley Keough and Gina Gammell made their directorial debuts with War Pony. Photo: EPA-EFE

“At [age] nine, 10, 11, I was making movies all day, and I had a very practical mindset about it all for a child,” she told InStyle. “I was like, ‘I’m going to try and model, get my own money, and then I’m going to finish school, and I’m going to start acting after I’m 18.”

Actress Riley Keough attends the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, in January 2017, in Beverly Hills, California. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

So, what else do we know about her?

1. She dropped out of school to become a model

Riley Keough, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, quit school to pursue modelling. Photo: @rileykeough/Instagram

Growing up, Keough fulfilled her childhood plan. At 14, seeing a friend’s sister making good money from modelling, she quit high school to look for an opportunity on the runway, to be “independent to buy what I wanted”, she explained with Elvis Presley Fans of Nashville.