Skip to main contentSkip to footer

Riley Keough talks about stepfather Michael Jackson: 'I loved him'

riley keough golden globes
Gemma Strong
Online Digital News Director
Share this:

Riley Keough has opened up about her stepfather Michael Jackson, and she only has fond memories of the king of pop. "I loved him," the 27-year-old granddaughter of Elvis Presley said in a new interview with The New York Times Magazine. Riley's mother, Lisa Marie Presley, was famously married to Michael for two years, from 1994 until 1996. The model went on to recall splitting her time between Graceland and Michael's Neverland Ranch, which had its own amusement park and a petting zoo. "There were toys everywhere, animals everywhere, kids everywhere," Riley said. "It was like being at Disneyland all day."

riley keough© Photo: Getty Images

Riley Keough has spoken of her love for late stepfather Michael Jackson

Riley – who received a 2017 Golden Globe nomination for TV series The Girlfriend Experience - was primarily raised by her birth father, Lisa Marie's first husband, Danny Keough. "Looking back on it, I'm like, 'Wow, my upbringing was very intense'," she noted. "I always wanted to be in film. I knew that. I grew up in a family of musicians, so it was also something that I wasn't around a lot. I wanted to make movies and that's all I wanted to do when I was a kid. Film was everything, and I was very fascinated with people and human behaviour."

lisa marie presley michael jackson© Photo: Getty Images

Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson were married from 1994 until 1996

Lisa Marie, who divorced fourth husband Michael Lockwood last year, maintained an on-again, off-again relationship with Michael in the four years following their 1996 divorce. "He was an amazing person, and I am lucky to have gotten as close to him as I did and to have had the many experiences and years we had together," she previously said of the star, who died in 2009. "I desperately hope that he can be relieved from his pain, pressure and turmoil now. He deserves to be free from all of that and I hope he is in a better place, or will be."

More Celebrity News

See more