Riley Keough wants to “preserve” her family’s legacy through her ownership of Graceland.
“My hope is to continue what my grandmother did, and then my mother did, which is simply to preserve our family home,” Keough, 35, told People in an interview published on Sunday, September 29.
Keough is the eldest granddaughter of the late Elvis Presley, who died in 1977 at the age of 42. The Daisy Jones and the Six actress inherited Elvis’ famed Tennessee mansion in 2023 after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley.
Elvis and ex-wife Priscilla Presley shared Lisa Marie, who retained Graceland ownership after her father’s death.
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Elvis bought Graceland, where both he and Lisa Marie are buried, in 1957 one year before his music career skyrocketed. He lived there with wife Priscilla, now 79, whom he divorced in 1972, and their only child.
Lisa Marie died in January 2023 at the age of 53, naming Keough in her will as the new trustee of the house. (Lisa Marie shared Riley and son Benjamin, who died by suicide in 2020, with ex Danny Keough.)
Us Weekly confirmed in May that Riley filed a lawsuit to stop Graceland from being put up for auction by Naussany Investments and Private Lending. The corporation claimed that the Promenade Trust, which oversees Graceland, owes $3.8 million to Naussany after neglecting to pay back a 6-year-old loan from Lisa Marie. Riley alleged that Naussany’s documents about Lisa Marie’s loan details were “fraudulent.”
A judge ruled in Riley’s favor later that month, meaning that she and her family — Lisa Marie is also survived by 15-year-old twin daughters Harper and Finley, whom she shared with ex Michael Lockwood — can retain the property.
“As the court has now made clear, there was no validity to the claims,” a spokesperson for Elvis Presley Enterprises told Us in a statement. “There will be no foreclosure. Graceland will continue to operate as it has for the past 42 years, ensuring that Elvis fans from around the world can continue to have a best-in-class experience when visiting his iconic home.”
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Riley’s grandmother Priscilla initially claimed that Lisa Marie’s will fraudulently removed her name as the trustee in favor of Riley. She and Riley have since settled their court dispute with a one-time payment.
“I think Riley will be great,” Priscilla told Piers Morgan in a November 2023 interview. “She has asked me a few things about what to do and we’ll talk about, like, I want to help her with Graceland. I mean, she has her own career as well and [is] doing so well.”
