What Riley Keough Has Said About Her Brother Benjamin's Tragic Death

The following article makes mention of suicide.

Due to her last name, you'd be forgiven for not realizing that Riley Keough comes from a very famous family. The indie star is the great-grandchild of Elvis and Priscilla Presley. Riley's parents are Lisa Marie Presley and guitarist Danny Keough. The Presley family has been cursed by misfortune since Elvis' premature death in 1977 at 42. Per TMZ, Riley's brother and Lisa Marie's son, Benjamin Keough, took his life in July 2020.

Lisa Marie took the news hardest — she'd lost her father when she was 9, and now her son. "She is completely heartbroken, inconsolable, and beyond devastated," a spokesperson told Today. "She adored that boy. He was the love of her life," they concluded. Lisa Marie was never the same after her son's death, admitting she'd never stop mourning. "Navigating through this hideous grief that absolutely destroyed and shattered my heart and my soul into almost nothing has swallowed me whole," she shared on Instagram.

Riley was also hit particularly hard, as she'd been incredibly close to her brother. Then, just two years after Benjamin's death, Riley was dealt another major blow when her mom died suddenly from a suspected cardiac arrest at age 55, per People. For somebody still so young, the actor has suffered insurmountable heartbreak. Still, she's determined to keep her sibling's memory alive and talk about the effects of his loss. Here's what Riley Keough has said about her brother Benjamin's tragic death

Riley Keough was left reeling by her brother, Benjamin Keough's tragic death in 2020. "The first four or five months, I couldn't get out of bed. I was totally debilitated," she told The New York Times in 2021. "I couldn't talk for two weeks. It's very complicated for our minds to put that somewhere because it's so outrageous. If I'm going through a breakup, I know what to do with that and where to file it in my mind. But the suicide of your brother? Where do you put that? How does that integrate? It just doesn't."

However, in a way, Riley was better equipped to process the grief than Lisa Marie Presley had been — because a mother should never have to suffer the pain of losing their child. Still, Riley told The Times that during the year after Benjamin's death, she constantly felt like she was drowning in an ocean, totally paralyzed and unable to move.

"I think when you're in grief, everything for the first time hits you," Riley explained to Variety about what it felt to return to "the real world" after suffering trauma. "It's like, oh, I'm experiencing this in grief now. It's the little things at first, like I'm going to the grocery store in grief — never done that before. Then, like, I'm going back to the gym in grief. So you kind of have to reexperience things in grief."

A week after her brother's death, Riley Keough posted photos of them together and a heartwrenching commentary. "Mornings are the hardest. I forget you're gone," she admitted. "I can't cry because of the fear that I will never stop. A pain that's new to me. You." Riley called Benjamin Keough her best friend. She hoped he'll give her "the strength to eat" again and that he was enveloped in love. She finished by sharing that she dreams of being reunited one day.

On the second anniversary of his death, Riley posted a photo of her and Benjamin on her wedding day. "Not an hour goes by where I don't think of you and miss you," she wrote. "It's been two years today since you left, and I still can't believe you're not here. You are so loved, my Ben Ben."

Meanwhile, despite still navigating her own loss, Riley told In Style she's become a certified "death doula." According to the Cleveland Clinic, a death doula provides support and counseling for grieving families. In the meantime, she focuses on mindfulness and gratitude for the small things in life. "I definitely have hard days, and all kinds of pain and suffering and all that," Riley admitted. "But I think when you realize that's part of it, and your expectation isn't to just be feeling joy, that's been a real shift for me in finding those moments and things to smile about."

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.