
Agnes Ayres
Biography
From Wikipedia
Agnes Ayres (April 4, 1892 – December 25, 1940) was an American actress who rose to fame during the silent film era. She was known for her role as Lady Diana Mayo in The Sheik and The Son of the Sheik opposite Rudolph Valentino.
She was born Agnes Eyre Henkel in Carbondale, Illinois to Solon and Emma Slack Henkel on April 4, 1898. She had an older brother named Solon William Henkel born in 1888.
Ayres began her career in 1914 when she was noticed by an Essanay Studios staff director and cast as an extra in a crowd scene. After moving to New York City with her mother to pursue a career in acting, Ayres was spotted by actress Alice Joyce. Joyce noticed the physical resemblance the two shared, which eventually led to Ayres being cast in Richard the Brazen (1917) as Joyce's character's sister. Ayres' career began to gain momentum when Paramount Pictures founder Jesse Lasky began to take an interest in her. Lasky gave her a starring role in the Civil War drama Held by the Enemy (1920), and also lobbied for parts for her in several Cecil B. DeMille productions. It was during this time that Ayres married, and quickly divorced, Captain Frank P. Schuker, an army officer whom she had wed during World War I. She also began a romance with Lasky.
In 1921, Ayres shot to stardom when she was cast as Lady Diana Mayo, an English heiress opposite "Latin lover" Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik. Ayres later reprised her role as Lady Diana in the 1926 sequel Son of the Sheik. Following the release of The Sheik, she went on to have major roles in many other films including The Affairs of Anatol (1921) starring Wallace Reid, Forbidden Fruit (1921), and Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments (1923).
By 1923, Ayres' career began to wane following the end of her relationship with Jesse Lasky. She married Mexican diplomat S. Manuel Reachi in 1924. The couple had a daughter before divorcing in 1927. In 1929, Ayres lost her fortune and real estate holdings in the Crash of '29. That same year, she also appeared in her last major role in The Donovan Affair, starring Jack Holt. To earn money, she left acting and played the vaudeville circuit. She returned to acting in 1936, confident that she could make a comeback. Unable to secure starring roles and somewhat overweight, Ayres appeared in mostly uncredited bit parts, and finally retired from acting for good in 1937.
After her retirement, Ayres became despondent and was eventually committed to a sanatorium. She also lost custody of her daughter to Reachi, in 1939. She died from a cerebral hemorrhage on December 25, 1940 at her home at the age of 42. She is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
For her contribution to motion pictures, Agnes Ayres has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6504 Hollywood Boulevard.
Acting (47 movies)

The Ten Commandments
1923

The Story Without a Name
1924

Hollywood
1923

The Donovan Affair
1929

Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12
1922

The Sheik
1921

Racing Hearts
1923

The Affairs of Anatol
1921

The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
1961

The Son of the Sheik
1926

Too Much Speed
1921

Clarence
1922

The Guilty One
1924

The Ordeal
1922

Eve's Love Letters
1927

Mrs. Balfame
1917

Sacred Silence
1919

Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
1942

Go and Get It
1920

Bought and Paid For
1922

The Venturers
1917

Small Town Girl
1936

Midnight Taxi
1937

Morals for Men
1925

A Little Ouija Work
1918

Forbidden Fruit
1921

Detained
1924

The Inner Voice
1920

Life in Hollywood No. 7
1927

Her Market Value
1925

The Marriage Maker
1923

Don't Call It Love
1924

The Love Special
1921

The Awful Truth
1925

The Heart Raider
1923

Cappy Ricks
1921

The Furnace
1920

Held by the Enemy
1920

Maid of Salem
1937

Motherhood
1917

The Debt
1917

Mammon and the Archer
1918

The Lane That Had No Turning
1922

A Modern Salome
1921

When a Girl Loves
1924

The Bottom of the Well
1917

The Girl Problem
1919
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