The world of socialites and extravagant transformations bids farewell to Jocelyn Wildenstein, a Swiss-born figure renowned for her dramatic feline-like appearance. Her death was confirmed by her fiancé, Lloyd Klein, to the AFP news agency on Wednesday, November 1. Wildenstein, aged 84 according to some reports, passed away in Paris on the evening of December 31 in the hotel room where she had resided since August of the previous year. Klein described her death as "unexpected" and noted that she died "peacefully in her sleep."
Wildenstein leaves behind a complex legacy, intertwined with the art world and high society. Born on August 5, 1940, in Lausanne, Switzerland, as Jocelyne Périsset, her life changed dramatically following her marriage to billionaire art dealer Alec Wildenstein in 1978. The union catapulted her into the glamorous circles of New York society. Her marriage led to an extravagant lifestyle that was often chronicled in tabloids. The divorce in 1999 was widely reported due to its jaw-dropping settlement that saw her receive $2.5 billion upfront and an annual sum of $100 million for thirteen years thereafter.
The tumultuous relationship with Alec Wildenstein is part of her layered history, not least because of her accusations against him, including claims that he threatened her with a gun, a report by O Estado de S. Paulo noted. The couple had two children together, and despite the lavish settlement, Wildenstein filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2018, claiming to have no funds in her bank account, according to Newsbomb.
Her transformation into the so-called "Catwoman" became an emblem of extensive plastic surgeries, reportedly trying to resemble a feline, inspired by her love for animals, including the lynx that she kept as a pet. She admitted to several procedures, which included an eyelift, brow lifts, cheek implants, and liposuctions, claiming these were of her own volition. In contrast, she denied that her high cheekbones and feline eyes were the result of plastic surgery, attributing them instead to her Swiss heritage, as noted by NOS.
Despite the publicity regarding her surgeries, Wildenstein often contradicted reports about the extent of her procedures. "I have never had plastic surgery and I hate Botox," she declared in an interview with The Sun.
Throughout her later years, she maintained a relationship with fashion designer Lloyd Klein, whom she married in 2018. Despite numerous public disputes, their relationship endured until her passing. Klein attempted to wake her from a nap before a planned New Year's Eve celebration but discovered that she had passed away due to what was attributed to a venous inflammation leading to a blockage of blood that deprived her brain of oxygen, as reported by Stern.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.