Actress Skye McCole Bartusiak suffered from epileptic seizures

Former child star Skye Mccole Bartusiak had suffered a series of epileptic seizures in the days leading up to her weekend death, according to her mother.

The actress, who played Mel Gibson's movie daughter in The Patriot, died at her parents' Houston, Texas home on Saturday (19Jul14), aged 21.

Her mom Helen reveals Skye first experienced seizures as a baby, but hadn't had another attack for years, until just a week before her passing.

She is convinced the actress lost consciousness after choking during a seizure and reveals her attempts to revive Skye via cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) proved useless.

She tells CNN, "Nobody was there (when she suffered the suspected seizure)... I've done CPR on that kid more than one time, and it just didn't work this time."

Honoring her daughter's memory, Helen adds, "She was a kind and really beautiful girl. The girl has lived such an amazing life."