Agnes Ayres

This article is about the American actress. For the American pianist, see Agnes Gardner Eyre.

Agnes Ayres (born Agnes Henkel; April 4, 1892^[1] – December 25, 1940) was an American actress who rose to fame during the period of silent films.^[2] She was known for her role as Lady Diana Mayo in The Sheik opposite Rudolph Valentino.^[3]

Agnes Ayres
Ayres, c. 1920
Born	Agnes Henkel (1892-04-04)April 4, 1892 Carbondale, Illinois, U.S.
Died	December 25, 1940(1940-12-25) (aged 48) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Other names	Agnes Eyre Agnes Rendleman
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1914–1929, 1936–1937
Spouses	Frank Schuker ​ ​ (m. 1918; div. 1921)​ S. Manuel Reachi ​ ​ (m. 1924; div. 1927)​
Children	1

Career

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.^[3] After moving to Manhattan 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 drama Held by the Enemy (1920), and he lobbied for parts for her in several productions by Cecil B. DeMille.^[4] During this period Ayres began a romance with Lasky.^[5]

Agnes Ayres as Helen Allen in the 1920 film Go and Get It - Munsey's Magazine, 1920

In 1921, Ayres shot to stardom when she was cast as Lady Diana Mayo, an English heiress, with "Latin lover" Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik. Ayres later reprised her role as Lady Diana in the 1926 sequel The Son of the Sheik. Following the release of The Sheik, she had major roles in many other films, including The Affairs of Anatol (1921) starring Wallace Reid, Forbidden Fruit (1921), and Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1923).

Ayres, c. 1921

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.^[6] The couple had a daughter,^[7] then divorced in 1927.^[8]

Ayres lost her fortune and real estate holdings in the Wall Street Crash of 1929.^[3] 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 — but, unable to secure starring roles, and somewhat overweight, Ayres appeared in mostly uncredited parts and finally retired from acting in 1937.^[6]

Later years and death

After her retirement, Ayres became despondent and was eventually committed to a sanatorium. In 1939, she also lost custody of her daughter, Maria Ayres, to Reachi.^[6]

She died from a cerebral hemorrhage on December 25, 1940, at her home in Hollywood, California at the age of 48; she had been ill for several weeks.^[3][9] She is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. In 1960, Ayres was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star at 6504 Hollywood Boulevard for her contributions to the film industry.^[10]

Her daughter Maria Reachi had a small part in the movie East Side, West Side (1949).^[11]

Selected filmography

Ayres on a lobby card for The Sheik

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1914	The Masked Wrestler		Uncredited
1915	His New Job	Extra, Secretary	Alternative title: Charlie's New Job
1917	Motherhood	The Mother	Credited as Agnes Eyre Lost film
	The Debt	Countess Ann	Credited as Agnes Eyre Lost film
	Mrs. Balfame	Alys Crumley	Credited as Agnes Eyre
	Hedda Gabler		Credited as Agnes Eyre
	The Mirror	undetermined	Credited as Agnes Eyre Lost film
	The Dazzling Miss Davison	Lillian, Miss Davison's sister	Credited as Agnes Eyre Lost film
	The Defeat of the City	Alicia Van Der Pool	Credited as Agnes Eyre
	The Bottom of the Well	Alice Buckingham	Lost film
1918	The Purple Dress	Maida	*short
	The Enchanted Profile	Ida Bates
	Sisters of the Golden Circle	Mrs. James Williams
	One Thousand Dollars	Margarett Hayden
1919	The Girl Problem	Helen Reeves
	A Stitch in Time	Lela Trevor
	In Honor's Web	Carson	Lost film
	Sacred Silence		Lost film
	The Gamblers	Isabel Merson
1920	A Modern Salome	Helen Torrence	Lost film
	The Inner Voice	Barbara	Survives; Library of Congress, Cineteca Nazionale
	Go and Get It	Helen Allen	Survives; Cineteca Nazionale
	Held by the Enemy	Rachel Hayne	Lost film
1921	The Love Special	Laura Gage	Survives
	Forbidden Fruit	Mary Maddock	Survives
	Too Much Speed	Virginia MacMurran	Unknown/presumably Lost
	Cappy Ricks	Florrie Ricks	Incomplete film
	The Affairs of Anatol	Annie Elliott	Survives
	The Sheik	Lady Diana Mayo	Survives
1922	The Lane That Had No Turning	Madelinette	Lost film
	Bought and Paid For	Virginia Blaine	Lost film
	The Ordeal	Sybil Bruce	Lost film
	A Daughter of Luxury	Mary Fenton	Lost film
	Clarence	Violet Pinney	Lost film
1923	The Heart Raider	Muriel Gray (a speed girl)
	Racing Hearts	Virginia Kent	Lost film
	The Ten Commandments	The Outcast	Survives
	The Marriage Maker	Alexandra Vancy	Lost film
	Don't Call It Love	Alice Meldrum	Lost film
	Hollywood	Herself (cameo)	Lost film
1924	When a Girl Loves	Sasha Boroff	Survives
	Bluff	Betty Hallowell	Survives
	The Guilty One	Irene Short	Lost
	Detained		Short film Survives
	The Story Without a Name	Mary Walsworth	Lost film
1925	Tomorrow's Love	Judith Stanley	Lost film
	Her Market Value	Nancy Dumont	Survives
	The Awful Truth	Lucy Satterlee	Survives
	Morals for Men	Bessie Hayes	Survives
1926	The Son of the Sheik	Lady Diana	Survives
1927	Eve's Love Letters	The Wife	Survives; *short
1928	Into the Night	Billie Mardon	Lost film
1929	The Donovan Affair	Lydia Rankin	? Survives
	Bye, Bye, Buddy	Glad O'Brien	Lost film
1936	Small Town Girl	Catherine	Uncredited
1937	Maid of Salem	Bit Part	Uncredited
	Midnight Taxi	Society woman	Uncredited
	Souls at Sea	Bit Role	Uncredited
	Morning Judge	Mrs. Kennedy

Further reading

• Michael G. Ankerich (2010). Dangerous Curves atop Hollywood Heels: The Lives, Careers, and Misfortunes of 14 Hard-Luck Girls of the Silent Screen. BearManor. ISBN 978-1-59393-605-1.
• Louise Carley Lewisson.The Sheik and I: the life and career of Agnes Ayres. BearManor (2024). ISBN 979-8887714011.