Earlier this year, it was revealed that actress Riley Keough secretly welcomed her first baby with her partner Ben Smith-Petersen. The Daisy Jones & The Six star has, up until now, remained quiet about her baby, but has opened up about her baby girl in a cover story with Vanity Fair.
News of the couple’s baby was revealed during the memorial service for Riley’s mother, Lisa Marie Presley, where Ben read a touching tribute written by Riley. “I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, the way you loved my brother and my sisters. Thank you for giving me strength, my heart, my empathy, my courage, my sense of humor, my manners, my temper, my wildness, my tenacity. I’m a product of your heart, my sisters are a product of your heart, my brother is a product of your heart.” Now, Riley has revealed the name of her daughter: Tupelo Storm Smith-Petersen.
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The name Tupelo is in reference to Riley’s grandfather, Elvis Presley. Riley chose the name for its subtle family connection as it’s the name of the Mississippi city where Elvis was born. She told Vanity Fair that the name was picked ahead of the Elvis movie. “It’s funny because we picked her name before the movie. I was like, ‘This is great because it’s not really a well-known word or name in relation to my family — it’s not like Memphis or something.’ Then when the Elvis movie came out, it was like, Tupelo this and Tupelo that. I was like, ‘Oh, no.’ But it’s fine.” As for Tupelo’s middle name, she shares the name Storm with her uncle, Riley’s late brother Benjamin Keough. Benjamin died in July 2020 by suicide.
In addition to sharing her daughter’s name, Riley, 34, also opened up about how she welcomed her daughter. Tupelo was born in August via surrogate. The Terminal List star chose surrogacy because she is unable to carry children due to her having Lyme disease. During her interview, Riley shared that surrogacy was the “best choice for what I had going on physically with the autoimmune stuff.”
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Congratulations again to Riley and Ben on the arrival of their first daughter! We hope they have enjoyed their first year with Tupelo.
Kate Fann (she/her) is the BabyNames.com celebrity blogger, as well as an established content writer, aspiring author, and social media expert. She has been featured in online publications such as Bolde, ManoByte, Medium, The Social Observer, and more. Kate has ghostwritten numerous romance novels and is currently working on publishing her own works in the Young Adult genre.
Kate lives in East Tennessee with her husband Casey and her two sons, Quinn and Noah. When she's not writing or scrolling Instagram, Kate can be found tasting delicious wines, playing with make-up, baking yummy treats, or hiking the beautiful Smoky Mountains.
