Jocelyn Wildenstein, 'Catwoman' New York Socialite, Dead at 84
Jocelyn Wildenstein, New York socialite nicknamed 'The Catwoman,' has reportedly died.
She was 84.
Her partner, Lloyd Klein, confirmed she died of a pulmonary embolism on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, to the AFP on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, per Paris Match.
Wildenstein, who was best known for her numerous facial cosmetic procedures — with some suspecting her transformations were to make herself resemble a feline — real name is Jocelyne Périsset. She married Alec N. Wildenstein, a wealthy art collector, in Las Vegas in April 1978. Their 1999 divorce was highly publicized.
Wildenstein, who boasts over one million Instagram followers, received $2.5 billion and $100 million annually for 13 years in her divorce settlement, according to TMZ. Despite becoming one of the most wealthiest people in the world, she filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018. They divorced due to his alleged extramarital affairs.
In an affidavit, the Swiss native claimed she was "not employed and my only income is Social Security." She added how she often "turn to friends and family in order to pay my ongoing expenses."
Her ex-husband's family cut off her payments in 2015.
By the 1990s, she became nearly unrecognizable after her face was transformed from multiple cosmetic surgeries.
"I haven't had plastic surgery,"she told The Sun in November 2024. "I am scared of what can happen, and I don't like to have something heavy. Sometimes it is a bit heavy and terrible."
In 1998, she told Vanity Fair how "the lynx has perfect eyes" and "If I show you pictures of my grandmother, what you see is these eyes — cat eyes — and high cheekbones." Her ex-husband Alec, who died in 2008, told the publication how they both underwent eye lifts, but Jocelyn's surgeries continued.
"I don't think I've known her when she wasn't healing from something," one of Jocelyn's friends noted at the time.
Following her divorce, Joceyln began dating fashion designer Lloyd Klein in 2003.
Jocelyn was arrested in 2016 for slashing Klein's face with scissors during a fight at the Trump Tower. Klein was subsequently arrested days after the incident for robbery and assault, but the couple later reconciled.
