Who Is Ben Smith-Petersen, Riley Keough’s Husband?

Who Is Ben Smith-Petersen, Riley Keough’s Husband?

Riley Keough is no stranger to being in the public eye, and she never has been. With a grandfather like Elvis Presley and a mother like Lisa Marie Presley, she basically inherited the spotlight. Over the years, as she has cemented herself as a prominent actor with roles in Mad Max, Magic Mike, and, most recently, as the star of Daisy Jones & The Six, the attention surrounding her has only grown.

One hot topic on fans’ minds is, of course, Keough’s romantic life. You’ll be glad to know, the actor is happily married to stuntman Ben Smith-Petersen—and their Hollywood love story could honestly be the plot of a romantic movie. If you need any proof, just see what Keough had to say about her beau in a 2022 interview with Vogue Australia: “My husband is such a good person. He’s calm and loyal and strong and sensitive. He’s my best friend. … At the end of the day, there is no side of me that he doesn’t know or love, and vice versa.” Seriously, how sweet.

Ahead is everything we know about Smith-Petersen.


Who is he?

Smith-Petersen is a stuntman and actor from Australia. He has performed stunts in movies, including Mad Max, The Hobbit, and Suicide Squad, as well as acted in a few TV shows and films, including Spark and Light, Manodrome, and upcoming project The Dead Thing.

His hobbies appear to be just as active as his profession, as he holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is an avid surfer.

How did he meet Keough?

The love birds first met in 2012 while filming Mad Max: Fury Road, in which Keough played Capable, one of Immortan Joe’s wives, and Smith-Petersen embodied the Doof Warrior, Immortan Joe’s blind musician. However, at the time of their acquaintance, Keough was in another relationship; it wasn’t until a year later when they were doing re-shoots in Smith-Petersen’s home country that the two began dating.

After just a month in Sydney together, they realized they were soulmates. “It was still so early that we weren’t being forward, but I knew I was in love with him,” Keough said in the aforementioned interview.

They had two weddings.

When you know, you know, and the couple sure did. “We moved in together after two months, and six months in he asked me to marry him, and then we were married a year later,” Keough said in the same interview.

The pair first got hitched in an intimate Hindu wedding in Nepal, then again in front of their family and friends with a celebration in Napa Valley, California.

Keough and Smith-Petersen have matching tattoos.

Nothing says forever like permanent ink. The two dove head first into their star-crossed love affair just three days into hanging out by getting matching tattoos.

After years of wearing his heart on his sleeve for Keough, Smith-Petersen decided to also wear her name on his… waistband. He revealed a second hot tattoo dedicated to his wife with a photo posted to Instagram in September 2021. In the snap, Keough pulls Smith-Petersen’s pants down ever so slightly to reveal “Riley” in Old English letters.

They have a daughter.

Smith-Petersen revealed the couple are parents during a memorial service for Lisa Marie Presley at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, in January 2023.

“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,” he said in a tribute on behalf of Keough. “I'm a product of your heart, my sisters are a product of your heart, my brother is a product of your heart,” Smith-Petersen said of his mother-in-law as he read the words of his wife.

It wasn’t until August 2023 that their daughter’s name, Tupelo Storm, was made public.

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