Patriot Actress Skye McCole Bartusiak, 21, Dies

Actress Skye McCole Bartusiak, who starred as Mel Gibson’s young daughter in the 2000 film The Patriot, has died aged 21.

While the cause of her death is unknown at this stage, the actress had suffered from epileptic fits, according to her mother Helen McCole Bartusiak

Her boyfriend found Bartusiak unresponsive on her bed in the garage apartment next to her parents’ home in Houston, Texas.

"We think she had a seizure and choked and nobody was there," Mrs Bartusiak said.

Mrs Bartusiak said she tried to resuscitate her daughter but could not.

She said the actress had been healthy and did not drink alcohol or take drugs.

Bartusiak made her acting debut in the television series Storm Of The Century in 1999 and also had a role on 24 in 2002-2003.

She made her film debut in The Cider House Rules in 1999 and starred with Michael Douglas in Don’t Say A Word in 2001.

Her most recent move was Sick Boy in 2012.

Bartusiak was best known for her role in Gibson’s Revolutionary War epic The Patriot, where she played the daughter of militia leader Benjamin Martin.

The Patriot cast also included Heath Ledger, who died after an accidental overdose of painkillers and sedatives in 2008.

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