Story highlights Bartusiak, 21, suffered from epileptic seizures in recent days, her mother says 
 
 "We think she had a seizure and choked and nobody was there," her mother says 
 
 Bartusiak played the young daughter of Mel Gibson's "Patriot" character 
 
 Her movie acting career began when she was just 6 
 
 Actress Skye McCole Bartusiak, who played Mel Gibson's youngest daughter in "The Patriot," died Saturday at her home in Houston, her mother said Sunday. She was 21. 
 
 "We lost our girl," Helen McCole Bartusiak told CNN. 
 
 While investigators have not determined a cause of death, Bartusiak had been suffering from epileptic seizures in recent days, according to her mother. 
 
 "She was a kind and really beautiful girl," her mother said. 
 
 Bartusiak's most visible role was as the young daughter of Mel Gibson's Revolutionary War "Patriot" character in the 2000 movie. 
 
 Her movie acting career began when she was just 6 in 1999 with a role in "The Cider House Rules." 
 
 She played the daughter of Michael Douglas' character in "Don't Say a Word" in 2001. 
 
 Her last film role was the lead in "Sick Boy," a low-budget thriller released in 2012. 
 
 Bartusiak had been preparing to produce and direct her first feature film in recent months, her mother said. 
 
 Her boyfriend found Bartusiak sitting up in her bed in the garage apartment adjacent to her parents' Houston home, her mother said. "We think she had a seizure and choked and nobody was there." 
 
 Her mother said she started cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her daughter before paramedics arrived. "They were working on her for 45 minutes and could not get a heartbeat," she said. 
 
 "I've done CPR on that kid more than one time and it just didn't work this time," Bartusiak said. 
 
 She's suffered epileptic seizures since she was a baby, although they disappeared for a few years until returning last week, her mother said. 
 
 Bartusiak's mother spent Sunday morning looking through photos of her actress daughter for the funeral. The images include pictures with Presidents George W. and George H.W. Bush, Mel Gibson, Dennis Hopper and Michael Douglas, she said. 
 
 "The girl has lived such an amazing life," she said. ||||| Skye McCole Bartusiak, who played the daughter of Mel Gibson in the 2000 film “The Patriot, died on Saturday. She was 21. 
 
 The cause of death is unknown but she reportedly died in her sleep at her Texas home. 
 
 Bartusiak appeared in several films as a child actor including “The Cider House Rules” in 1999 and “Don’t Say a Word” opposite Michael Douglas. 
 
 She was also featured in popular TV shows such as “24,” “Lost” and “House M.D.” 
 
 Born in Texas, the actress most recently produced and starred in several short films.
– The young actress best known for playing Mel Gibson's daughter in The Patriot died at her home in Houston on Saturday, her mother says. Skye McCole Bartusiak was 21. "She was a kind and really beautiful girl," her mother tells CNN, explaining that while no cause of death has been determined, the epileptic seizures Bartusiak had suffered since she was a baby returned last week after disappearing for a few years. Bartusiak was found by her boyfriend in her garage apartment next to her parents' home. "We think she had a seizure and choked and nobody was there," says the mother, who performed CPR on her daughter before emergency workers arrived. "I've done CPR on that kid more than one time and it just didn't work this time." Bartusiak made her movie debut in 1999's The Cider House Rules and also appeared opposite Michael Douglas in Don't Say a Word, as well as in TV shows including 24 and CSI, reports Variety. Her last movie role was in the 2012 thriller Sick Boy. She had been working on directing and producing her first film, her mother says.