[3] 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.

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.

[5] 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.

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).