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Agnes Ayres (April 4, 1898 – 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.
Born as Agnes Eyre Henkel in Carbondale, Illinois to Solon
and Emma Slack Henkel on April 4, 1898. She also had an older brother named
Solon William Henkel born in 1888. She 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.
Birth Name
Agnes Eyre Henkel
Born
Monday, 04 April 1898
Died
Wednesday, 25 December 1940
Actress Filmography
Title | Character | Year |
---|
Life Is a Dream in Cinema: Pola Negri | Self | 2006 |
Hollywood | Actress 'The Sheik' | 1980 |
The Love Goddesses | Self / (archive footage) | 1965 |
Hollywood: The Great Stars | Lady Diana Mayo | 1963 |
Hollywood: The Golden Years | Actress 'The Sheik' | 1961 |
Souls at Sea | Minor Role | 1937 |
Midnight Taxi | Society Woman | 1937 |
Maid of Salem | Townswoman / Townswoman (Uncredited) | 1937 |
Small Town Girl | Catherine | 1936 |
The House That Shadows Built | (archive footage) | 1931 |
Actress Filmography
Title | Character | Year |
---|
Life Is a Dream in Cinema: Pola Negri | Self | 2006 |
Hollywood | Actress 'The Sheik' | 1980 |
The Love Goddesses | Self / (archive footage) | 1965 |
Hollywood: The Great Stars | Lady Diana Mayo | 1963 |
Hollywood: The Golden Years | Actress 'The Sheik' | 1961 |
Souls at Sea | Minor Role | 1937 |
Midnight Taxi | Society Woman | 1937 |
Maid of Salem | Townswoman / Townswoman (Uncredited) | 1937 |
Small Town Girl | Catherine | 1936 |
The House That Shadows Built | (archive footage) | 1931 |
The Donovan Affair | Lydia Rankin | 1929 |
Bye, Bye, Buddy | Glad O'Brien | 1929 |
Into the Night | Billie Mardon | 1928 |
Life in Hollywood No. 7 | Herself | 1927 |
Eve's Love Letters | The wife | 1927 |
The Son of the Sheik | Diana - Wife of the Sheik | 1926 |
Tomorrow's Love | Judith Stanley | 1925 |
Detained | 1924 | |
The Guilty One | Irene Short | 1924 |
Bluff | Betty Hallowell | 1924 |
When a Girl Loves | Sasha Boroff | 1924 |
Don't Call It Love | Alice Meldrum | 1924 |
The Ten Commandments | The Outcast | 1923 |
Hollywood | Agnes Ayres | 1923 |
The Heart Raider | Muriel Gray - A Speed Girl / Muriel Gray (a speed girl) | 1923 |
Clarence | Violet Pinney | 1922 |
A Trip to Paramountown | Self | 1922 |
The Ordeal | Sybil Bruce | 1922 |
Bought and Paid For | Virginia Blaine | 1922 |
The Lane That Had No Turning | Madelinette | 1922 |
The Sheik | Lady Diana Mayo | 1921 |
Cappy Ricks | Florrie Ricks | 1921 |
The Affairs of Anatol | Annie Elliott | 1921 |
Too Much Speed | Virginia MacMurran | 1921 |
A Modern Salome | Helen Torrence | 1921 |
The Love Special | Laura Gage | 1921 |
The Furnace | Folly Vallance | 1920 |
Held by the Enemy | Rachel Hayne | 1920 |
Go and Get It | Helen Allen | 1920 |
In Honor's Web | Irene Carson | 1919 |
The Girl Problem | Helen Reeves | 1919 |
One Thousand Dollars | Margarett Hayden | 1918 |
The Renaissance at Charleroi | Adele Fauquier | 1917 |
The Defeat of the City | Alicia Van Der Pool | 1917 |
Richard the Brazen | Imogene | 1917 |
The Dazzling Miss Davison | Lillian - Miss Davison's Sister | 1917 |
The Mirror | Undetermined Role | 1917 |
Hedda Gabler | (as Agnes Eyre) | 1917 |
The Debt | The Girl | 1917 |
Mrs. Balfame | Alys Crumley | 1917 |
His New Job | Secretary | 1915 |