Agnes Ayres

Personal Info

Known For:
Acting

Birthday:
April 4, 1892

Place of Birth:
Carbondale, Illinois, USA

Social Media

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.

Known For

Filmography

Year Movie Role
1961 The Legend of Rudolph Valentino Self (archive footage)
1942 Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10) Self (archive footage)
1937 Midnight Taxi Society Woman
1937 Maid of Salem Townswoman (Uncredited)
1936 Small Town Girl Catherine (uncredited)
1929 The Donovan Affair Lydia Rankin
1927 Eve's Love Letters The wife
1927 Life in Hollywood No. 7 Herself
1926 The Son of the Sheik Diana - Wife of the Sheik
1925 Morals for Men Bessie Hayes
1925 Her Market Value Nancy Dumont
1925 The Awful Truth Lucy Satterlee
1924 The Story Without a Name Mary Walsworth
1924 The Guilty One Irene Short
1924 Detained
1924 Don't Call It Love Alice Meldrum
1924 When a Girl Loves Sasha Boroff
1923 The Ten Commandments The Outcast
1923 Hollywood Agnes Ayres
1923 Racing Hearts Virginia Kent
1923 The Marriage Maker Alexandra Vancy
1923 The Heart Raider Muriel Gray (a speed girl)
1922 Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12 Self
1922 Clarence Violet Pinney
1922 The Ordeal Sybil Bruce
1922 Bought and Paid For Virginia Blaine
1922 A Daughter of Luxury Mary Fenton
1922 The Lane That Had No Turning Madelinette
1921 The Sheik Lady Diana Mayo
1921 The Affairs of Anatol Annie Elliott
1921 Too Much Speed Virginia MacMurran
1921 Forbidden Fruit Mary Maddock
1921 The Love Special Laura Gage
1921 Cappy Ricks Florrie Ricks
1921 A Modern Salome Helen Torrence
1920 Go and Get It Helen Allen
1920 The Inner Voice Barbara
1920 The Furnace Folly Valance
1920 Held by the Enemy Rachel Hayne
1919 Sacred Silence Madge Summers
1918 A Little Ouija Work
1918 Mammon and the Archer Helen Lantry
1917 Mrs. Balfame Alys Crumley
1917 The Venturers Mary Marsden
1917 Motherhood The Mother
1917 The Debt The Girl
Year TV Show Role
View this project on GitHub: https://github.com/Manasess896/TMDB-Explorer