A television anchorwoman who had a cameo role in the new George Bush film W. died in hospital on the weekend after being severely beaten at her home in the US.

Anne Pressly, 26, was found by her mother last Monday, just 30 minutes before she was due to be on air as a presenter of KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas, the home town of Bill Clinton.

She had been beaten around the head, neck and face and had been unable to communicate with her family or police. Ms Pressly died at a hospital in Little Rock on Saturday night, a spokeswoman for the hospital confirmed.

In a statement released by the hospital, Ms Pressly's parents, Guy and Patti Cannady, asked for privacy as they grieved.

"It was our hope, as was yours, that Anne would overcome the injuries inflicted upon her in the brutal attack at her home," the statement read.

"We were with her in her last moments, and although our hearts are broken, we are at the same time comforted by our faith knowing that Anne is now with our heavenly father."

Tributes for the popular TV presenter began to flow to the station on Sunday.

KATV President and General Manager Dale Nicholson described her as “serious about her work without taking herself too seriously.

"If you didn't know her, you need only look at the pictures - the warmth, the sincerity, the joy of the moment are always evident...And of course there was that smile,” he said in a statement.

“It was the first thing you noticed when Anne Pressly came into your life. She was rarely without it.”

The Governor of Arkansas, Mike Beebe, said: "Anne … was a personality the whole state got to watch and see and know. As a result of that, a lot of people felt a close kinship, whether they ever met her or not."

Police have not yet identified a suspect, despite a large search around Ms Pressly’s suburb. It has been reported her credit card was used at a gas station a few miles from her home.

Ms Pressly had a small role in Oliver Stone’s new satirical biopic W., about the outgoing US President.

She played a conservative TV commentator, a role she won by chance after visiting the set of the film for a feature story.

Ms Pressly had been to the cinema to see herself in the film the night before she was attacked.

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