Riley Keough is particularly good at playing anger without shouting. We value her ease in ensembles, and her ability to make a character’s complaint count even when the film is too fond of the person being blamed.
Fi1m perspective
In Jay Kelly (2025), Riley Keough’s Jessica is angry with her famous father without needing to shout. We were relieved by that anger, because Noah Baumbach’s film is rather too willing to forgive its charming leading man. As the older daughter, she has the awkward job of making a grievance count when the film would prefer us to enjoy his company. Keough is worth watching even when the material around her is less sure of itself.
Her early supporting work in The Runaways (2010) gave way to the breakthrough films Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and American Honey (2016). As Capable in George Miller’s desert chase, she works within an action ensemble. Miller keeps the chase clear even at its most frantic, although several supporting characters deserve more attention. A film can be this good and still leave us wishing it had made more room for the people in it.
Logan Lucky (2017) makes a better case for how comfortably she fits among other actors. As Mellie Logan, she belongs to Steven Soderbergh’s loose, affectionate heist comedy, helped by Ellen Mirojnick’s matter-of-fact leopard print. Soderbergh shoots and edits the film himself, keeping the images bright and unfussy. That suits Keough’s unforced way with an ensemble, where looking as though she belongs matters more than making an entrance. The film outstays its welcome, but the pleasure of the company lasts.
Television gave her a leading role as Christine Reade in the Soderbergh-produced The Girlfriend Experience (2016), followed by the singing and guitar work of Daisy Jones & the Six (2023). Between them came the comic turn as Stefani in Zola (2020). These are useful departures for an actor whose naturalism could become a casting habit. Start with Logan Lucky for the company; approach Jay Kelly prepared to wish the film listened to Jessica more often.
Biography
Riley Keough is an American actress. Born Danielle Riley Keough on 29 May 1989 in Santa Monica, California, she is the eldest grandchild of Elvis Presley and the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and Danny Keough. She began her career as a model before making her feature film debut in a supporting role in the 2010 musical biopic The Runaways.
Keough appeared in Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike (2012) and gained wider recognition as Capable in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). She played Mellie Logan in Logan Lucky (2017) and later took roles in films including American Honey (2016), It Comes at Night (2017), The House That Jack Built (2018), Zola (2020) and The Lodge (2020). She starred as Daisy Jones in the 2023 series Daisy Jones & the Six and as Jessica Kelly in Jay Kelly (2025).
Keough received Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her television work. She is a co-founder of the production company Felix Culpa and co-directed the 2022 drama War Pony, which won the Caméra d'Or at Cannes.
