Who was Jocelyne Wildenstein, the ‘Catwoman’ known for her extreme plastic surgeries who died?

Jocelyne Wildenstein, often referred to as “Catwoman,” has died,

The Swiss-born socialite, known for her feline-inspired look due to numerous surgeries, passed away from a pulmonary embolism at a luxury hotel in Paris.

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She was given nicknames by the American press such as “Catwoman” and the “Bride of Wildenstein.”

“It is with heavy heart and with great sadness that Mr Lloyd Klein announces the unexpected death of his beloved fiancee and longtime companion Jocelyne Wildenstein,” her partner said in a statement sent to AFP.

Her name was sometimes referred to as Jocelyne and Jocelyn in English-language media. According to some reports, she was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1940 and died on December 31.

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Who was Jocelyne Wildenstein?

Born in Switzerland in 1945, Jocelyne Perisset rose to fame as a New York socialite after marrying art dealer Alec Wildenstein. The couple had two children together.

Their marriage ended in the 1990s, resulting in one of the most expensive and public divorces in history. The reported settlement, valued at $2.5 billion, also specified Jocelyne would receive $100 million annually for the next 13 years, according to The Guardian.

Following the highly publicised divorce, she kept her ex-husband’s surname.

Some reports suggested she was five years older than her actual age. In a recent interview, she explained the confusion was due to her birth year being mistaken for her ex-husband’s, 1940.

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Known for her love of cosmetic surgery, she gained the nickname “Catwoman” in the tabloids due to her distinctive feline-like appearance, particularly her eyes. With over a million followers on Instagram, she was quite popular on social media.

‘I never wanted to change my face’

Jocelyne first met her future husband, Alec Wildenstein, on a safari in Kenya and married him a year later in Las Vegas. Their marriage marked the beginning of her transformation, as she pursued cosmetic procedures to resemble a big cat.

According to the Daily Mail, she spent £2m on surgeries, reportedly in an effort to please her husband, who was fascinated by big cats. She even kept a lynx as a pet, explaining to Vanity Fair that “the lynx has perfect eyes.”

However, Alec Wildenstein had a different view. In a Vanity Fair interview, he said, “She was crazy. I would always find out last. She was thinking that she could fix her face like a piece of furniture. Skin does not work that way. But she wouldn’t listen.”

A judge overseeing their divorce settlement allegedly ruled that Jocelyne could not use any of the funds for further cosmetic surgery.

In an interview with French TV channel C8, Jocelyne said, “I never wanted to change my face,” though she did acknowledge wishing her lips were a little thicker.

Extremism or beauty?

Interview magazine once described Jocelyne as “one of the jet set’s most outrageous characters for nearly five decades.” In her conversation with the media outlet, she revealed that she spent over $700,000 annually on food, wine, flowers, pills, and more, adding, “and that was just the beginning.”

While some viewed her actions as extreme, others saw them as a form of beauty.

When the magazine’s editor and interviewer Mel Ottenberg asked her about her passion for big cats, Jocelyne spoke about Ol Jogi, the Wildenstein family ranch in Kenya, where 2,000 animals were under protection.

“We have everything except lions, because they would kill what we are trying to protect,” she explained. When asked about her favourite animal, she chose the leopard, stating that they form close attachments to just one person.

“Leopards are jealous,” she said.

Despite the lavish lifestyle, Jocelyne’s financial situation shifted. In a 2023 interview with The Telegraph, she revealed that she had filed for bankruptcy in 2018. She explained that, after the death of her husband Alec in 2008, his family stopped the annual payments to her in 2015.

The Lloyd Klein story

Lloyd Klein and Jocelyne Wildenstein first met at New York Fashion Week in 2003 and immediately bonded over their shared love for extravagant style, as Klein later told People Magazine in 2016. The couple began dating that same year, though their relationship often attracted tabloid attention, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In 2016, Wildenstein was arrested for slashing Klein’s face with scissors during a violent altercation, in which she also allegedly threw a burning candle at him. Despite the incident, the couple reconciled, and in July 2017, they announced their engagement through The Daily Mail.

However, just days later, Klein was arrested for robbery and assault after attempting to retrieve his belongings from Wildenstein’s apartment. Despite these challenges, they ultimately reunited.

Speaking to People Magazine, Klein shared that Wildenstein passed away while taking a nap. “We had a nice happy hour the same night and we were getting ready for the new year, and we took a little nap just to look good before getting dressed,” he recalled.

When asked about the cause of death, Klein explained that Wildenstein had phlebitis, a condition described by Healthline as inflammation of a vein that can result from vein wall damage or a blood clot blocking a vein.

“Because of her phlebitis, the legs were very, very swollen, and the blood was blocked, and there was no oxygen in the brain,” he told the magazine. “And we were having a nap, and when I woke up, I said, ‘Jocelyn, we have to wake up, we have to get dressed,’ and she was cold and she was dead.”

Klein further stated that Wildenstein’s health had been “perfect” just days before, and the condition, which her grandmother had also experienced, did not impact their holiday celebrations.

Wildenstein is survived by her two children and Klein.

With inputs from agencies