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2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards - Show© GettyImages

Riley Keough opens up about her teen friendship with Dakota Johnson

The two met in a parking lot as teens, instantly bonding over their famous families.


Maria Loreto
Senior Writer
AUGUST 10, 2023 1:59 PM EDT

Riley Keough and Dakota Johnson have been friends for most of their lives. The two met in their teen years, and instantly bonded over their similar familia situation.

Dior hosts Guggenheim International Gala Dinner, New York, America   05 Nov 2015© GettyImages
Keough and Johnson in 2015

As the children of famous families, Keough and Johnson became best friends instantly while hanging out at the “In-N-Out” parking lot in Los Angeles. “It was like finding a soulmate,” said Johnson to Vanity Fair. “When I met her, I felt this thing that is so impossible to articulate, growing up in a famous family. There was this solidarity. Understanding.”

Keough and Johnson come from two of the most famous celebrity families in Hollywood. Keough is the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and granddaughter of Elvis Presley. Johnson is the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, two seasoned Hollywood actors. It’s understandable for the two to have bonded instantly as soon as they met.

Johnson revealed various adventures the two experienced over the course of their friendship, including forming a band, dating musicians, and spending lots of time with their mothers. “We would just smoke cigarettes with our moms,” said Johnson. “And they’d call each other and be like, ‘I guess she’s going to stay with you for the next four days. Call me if she needs a ride.’ I’d go to Riley’s and then leave a week later. I don’t know if that’s normal, but, yeah, just running around LA, sharing clothes, smelling like Nag Champa. Most of it involved music festivals and dating musicians, of course.”

2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards   Show© GettyImages
Johnson and Keough at the Independent Spirit Awards

Keough was recently the cover star of Vanity Fair, where she discussed her career, the birth of her first daughter, and the complicated family issues that popped up following the death of her mother. Keough is now the sole heir of Graceland, Elvis Presley’s historic estate.