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Skye McCole Bartusiak

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Skye McCole Bartusiak
Born(1992-09-28)September 28, 1992
Houston, Texas, U.S.
DiedJuly 19, 2014(2014-07-19) (aged 21)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1999–2012
WebsiteOfficial website

Skye McCole Bartusiak (September 28, 1992 – July 19, 2014) was an American child actress and child model. She appeared in The Patriot (2000), Don't Say a Word (2001), as Rose Wilder in Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder (2002), as Megan Matheson on season 2 of 24 (2002–03), Boogeyman (2005), and Kill Your Darlings (2006).

Early life

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Skye McCole Bartusiak was born in Houston, Texas, to parents Helen (née McCole; 1956–2015)[1] and Donald Bartusiak.[2] Her brother, Stephen Dylan (1985–2023), was also a child model.[3][4]

She attended St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal School and Lutheran South Academy in Houston, and she graduated from Laurel Springs School in Ojai, California, in 2010.

Career

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Bartusiak first starred in Stephen King's Storm of the Century as young Pippa Hatcher. In 2000, she appeared in The Patriot as the youngest child of a militia leader portrayed by Mel Gibson.[5] She played the young Marilyn Monroe in the TV miniseries Blonde and the psychiatrist's daughter in Don't Say a Word, both in 2001.[5] She also played young Charlie McGee in Firestarter: Rekindled and Megan Matheson during season two of the television series 24 (2002–2003).[5][6]

Bartusiak made an appearance in the short film The Vest in 2003 and played the part of The Girl in Once Not Far from Home in 2005.[7] She also tried her hand at theatre, playing in The Miracle Worker with Hilary Swank at the Charlotte Repertory Theatre in North Carolina.[8]

In 2003, Bartusiak returned to period drama with Love Comes Softly, and a year later, she played young Jackie in Against the Ropes with Meg Ryan.[6] In 2005, she received main billing for her role as Franny Roberts in the hit horror film Boogeyman.[6] She starred in the "Kids" episode (season 1, ep. 19) of hospital drama series House,[9] and took a lead role as Sunshine in the 2006 film Kill Your Darlings, playing a troubled teen willing to do anything to get the attention of her busy father.[10]

Death

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On July 19, 2014, Bartusiak died at the age of 21 in her apartment behind her parents' Houston home. While her mother, shortly after Bartusiak's death, stated she believed that her daughter's history of epileptic seizures may have had a role in her death,[11] the coroner ruled the death resulted from an accidental drug overdose.

Her mother told CNN and the Associated Press that Skye's boyfriend found the actress sitting up in her bed; Helen began CPR on her daughter before the arrival of paramedics, who then worked "for 45 minutes" to resuscitate her. Her mother said Skye "had been healthy and did not drink or do drugs", but had recently been experiencing epileptic seizures; she believed that this fact had likely played a role in her daughter's death.[5][12] A memorial service was held in Houston six days later; her brother Stephen told mourners: "If you want to know what makes Skye happy, go out and plant a tree."[13]

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled in October 2014 that Bartusiak's death was an accident. The "combined toxic effects of hydrocodone and difluoroethane with carisoprodol" were listed as the main cause of death.[14]

Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
1999 The Cider House Rules[5] Hazel
2000 The Prophet's Game Adele Highsmith (child)
2000 The Patriot Susan Martin
2001 Don't Say a Word Jessie Conrad
2001 Riding in Cars with Boys Amelia, age 8
2001 The Affair of the Necklace Dove scenes deleted
2002 Flashpoint Lizzie
2003 Love Comes Softly Missie Davis
2003 The Vest Sara short film
2004 Against the Ropes Little Jackie Kallen
2005 Boogeyman Franny Roberts
2006 Kill Your Darlings Sunshine
2006 Once Not Far from Home The Little Girl short film
2006 Razor Sharp Isis/Ice-6 short film
2008 A Fix Natalie Coleman short film
2008 Pineapple Alex
2009 Wild About Harry Daisy Goodhart
2011 Good Day for It Rachel
2011 University of Penn Relay Carnival — director
2012 Twelve Hungry Men Jesse short film
2012 Dr. Oscar Griffith: Hollywood Psychiatrist The Pop Star / Rachel short film
2012 Sick Boy Lucy [5]
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Storm of the Century[5] Pippa Hatcher 2 episodes
1999 JAG Rachel Sherkston episode: "Shakedown"
1999 Judging Amy Marcy Noble episode: "Presumed Innocent"
1999 Witness Protection Suzie Batton HBO movie
2000 Providence Jessie episode: "Taking a Chance on Love"
2000 Frasier Girl with Drawing episode: "The Three Faces of Frasier"
2000 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Jennifer episode: "Legacy"
2000 The Darkling Casey Obold TV film
2001 Touched by an Angel Sarah episode: "The Birthday Present"
2001 Blonde Young Norma Jeane Baker TV film
2002 Firestarter: Rekindled Young Charlie McGee TV film
2002 Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder Rose Wilder TV film
2002–03 24 Megan Matheson recurring role (season 2)
2003 Love Comes Softly Missie Davis TV film
2004 George Lopez L'il Bit 2 episodes
2005 House Mary Carroll episode: "Kids"
2005 Lost Young Kate Austen (voice) episode: "Born to Run"; uncredited
2005 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Susan Lester episode: "Bite Me"
2007 Close to Home Amber episode: "Fall from Grace"

References

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  1. ^ "Helen Bartusiak Obituary (1956 - 2015)". Legacy.com. May 29, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  2. ^ "Patriot Actress Skye McCole Bartusiak Dies at Age 21". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on August 5, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2014 – via Yahoo!.
  3. ^ "Little Stephen Bartusiak is a model baby at work". The Morning Call. August 14, 1986. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  4. ^ "Stephen Dylan Bartusiak Obituary 2023". Integrity Funeral Care. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Skye McCole Bartusiak, actress, dies at 21". The New York Times. July 21, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c Eggertsen, Chris (July 20, 2014). "'The Patriot' and '24' actress Skye McCole Bartusiak dead at age 21". HitFix. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  7. ^ Ruble, Kimberly (July 20, 2014). "Skye McCole Bartusiak, Mel Gibson's Daughter in The Patriot Dead at Age 21". Guardian Liberty Voice. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  8. ^ Law, Eric (July 30, 2014). "Skye McCole Bartusiak: Film and television actress who appeared in The Cider House Rules ..." The Independent. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  9. ^ "Skye McCole Bartusiak". TV.com. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  10. ^ Deming, Mark (2015). "Kill Your Darlings (2006)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  11. ^ Duke, Alan (July 22, 2014). "'Patriot' actress Skye McCole Bartusiak dead at 21". CNN Entertainment. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  12. ^ Duke, Alan (July 20, 2014). "'Patriot' Actress Skye McCole Bartusiak Dead at 21". CNN. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  13. ^ Malec, Brett (July 28, 2014). "Late Patriot Actress Skye McCole Bartusiak Remembered at Houston Memorial Service". E! News. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  14. ^ "The Patriot Actress Died of an Accidental Drug Overdose". Fox News. October 13, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
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