Biography

Extremely popular silent star of the 1920s. Her popularity was enhanced when she co-starred with Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik (1921) and The Son of the Sheik (1926). She made her screen debut at Essanay Studios in 1915. While she was popular in the 1920s (thanks to the patronage of her lover, Jesse Lasky), her popularity had slipped by the time she briefly retired from the screen in 1927. Divorces, lawsuits and mental health battles all took their toll on her. Ayres returned to the movies almost immediately after but had difficulty re-establishing herself. She hoped that a bit part in Souls at Sea (1937) would lead to a comeback but it did not. She died three years later of a cerebral hemorrhage.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous

Born in Carbondale, Illinois, Agnes Ayres got into films in Chicago, where she was studying at school, by playing extra and bit parts in films being shot there. She achieved fame as "Lady Mayo" opposite Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik (1921), which was such a monster hit it spawned a sequel in which she also appeared, The Son of the Sheik (1926) (it was also Valentino's last picture). She retired from films in 1927 a wealthy woman, but the stock market crash of 1929 wiped her out. She returned to Hollywood to try to resume her career, but could only find work in the new "talkies" in small parts, mostly bit roles and mostly uncredited. She eventually gave up any hopes of reviving her career and left the screen again, this time to start a real-estate business in Beverly Hills, CA. She died on Christmas Day of 1940.
- IMDb mini biography by: frankfob2@yahoo.com

[on Forbidden Fruit (1921)] What more could one ask of a scenario?

[on Cecil B. DeMille] He is in a class by himself. I have never worked under a greater artist, and I never expect to. To have him suggest a scene clarifies the action perfectly. To have him criticize opens the way to better acting. He is quiet, moderate, thoughtful. He doesn't shriek and tear his hair and shout: "Camera!" He builds wonderful photo plays.