Jocelyn Wildenstein, the Swiss-born socialite famous for the surgically enhanced feline features that earned her such nicknames in the American press as “Catwoman” and “Bride of Wildenstein,” has died.
Her partner, Lloyd Klein, reported that she died of a pulmonary embolism in Paris at age 79.
Wildenstein, who sometimes spelled her name as “Jocelyne,” was a prominent figure in the New York tabloids for much of her adult life, due to her tempestuous love life, drastic changes in appearance, and the high pay she received in her divorce from an art-world bigwig (although she eventually claimed she was bankrupt, having exhausted her billions).
Wildenstein often downplayed the extent of her cosmetic procedures, claiming that the “cat eyes” for which she was so infamous ran in the family, or that different hairstyles changed her appearance.
Occasionally, however, she would give a wink to journalists who teased her about her procedures.
“If you feel good about your imperfections, about your aging, then you shouldn’t do anything,” she reportedly told photographer Zed Nelson in 2006. “Otherwise, it’s all about choosing the right doctor.”
A life defined by money, plastic surgery and love for big cats
Jocelyn Périsset (maiden name) spent her childhood in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The birthday was difficult to track as she gave reporters different dates. Klein said she died at age 79, while other outlets reported her age as 84.
As a child he spent his time swimming in lakes or skiing in nearby mountains. Her father inspired an early love for African mammals in her, she told Interview magazine in 2023.
Wildenstein left Lausanne for Paris early on when he turned 20, dancing in clubs and socializing with fellow expatriates, but kept his childhood dream of traveling to Africa.
The socialite made several trips to the continent before finally meeting billionaire art dealer Alec Wildenstein on a safari in Kenya in 1977.
Alec told Vanity Fair in 1998 that he was asked to kill a lion on a neighbor’s land, and his future wife went along. The couple married the following year, and the new Mrs. Wildenstein was given a new residence: Ol Jogi, a huge ranch her husband’s family owned in Kenya—her favorite among several new international homes.
His love affair with African big cats continued soon after on a larger scale.
After inheriting Ol Jogi through marriage, she installed a bulletproof enclosure for two tigers, a fitting addition to an estate that reportedly included 200 buildings with more than 300 employees.
She told Vanity Fair that together with her then-husband they spent around US$1 million per month. For Wildenstein, a Chanel couture dress costing $350,000 was worth the price.
His most enduring project was his face. Wildenstein underwent extensive plastic surgery in her life, starting about a year after her marriage to Alec, although she long denied it.
The two first pursued “his and hers eye lifts,” as succinctly described in a 1998 Vanity Fair story, but Wildenstein went further.
For most of her adult life, the outer corners of the socialite’s eyes slanted toward her temples, reminiscent of the felines she admired.
Wildenstein’s marriage ended in 1998 when she claimed to have discovered her husband in bed with another woman.
Alec was accused of threatening his wife after she claimed he pointed a loaded pistol when she entered the scene at their New York mansion.
After a trial, Alec was ordered to pay Jocelyn $2.5 billion in a divorce settlement — and $100 million each year for 13 years. He died in 2008.
New relationship
Wildenstein’s next most public relationship was with Lloyd Klein, a French designer nearly three decades her junior. They met at New York Fashion Week in 2003 and instantly connected over a mutual love of extravagant style, he expressed to People in 2016.
Their relationship, however, was often tumultuous: Wildenstein was arrested twice, in 2016 and 2017, for fighting with her boyfriend at one of his residences in New York’s Trump World Tower, and at one point the two were issued a restraining order. restriction against each other.
Klein told People that some of their fights were caused by Wildenstein’s stress over his “financial burden.” Despite her massive 1999 divorce settlement, Wildenstein filed for bankruptcy in 2018.
She told British newspaper The Times that she was still “broke” at the end of 2023.
After years of avoiding the public eye except for her boyfriend’s runway appearances, a decision she said she made to keep her two children, born during her marriage to Alec, out of the press, Wildenstein later returned to the spotlight.
Her supernatural characteristics, which the tabloids had previously mocked, were celebrated by stylish outlets like Paper and Interview, for which she posed for major photo shoots.
The fact that she maintained her flashy glamor (and her continued reluctance to admit to plastic surgery) amid her bankruptcy made her something of an over-the-top icon, one even imitated in the front row of couture fashion week.
Yet for all the time she spent in the tabloids, much of Wildenstein’s life remains a mystery or myth: her true age, the origins of her feline appearance, where all her money really went.
Jocelyn promised to tell more of her story in an HBO series that, according to her, would air in 2023, but the project has so far not materialized.
Still, the way Wildenstein looked at it, she didn’t care if people misunderstood her.
“I have nothing to prove,” he told Paper in 2018. “In the end, I don’t care.”
This content was originally published in Jocelyn Wildenstein, socialite known as ‘Catwoman’ on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
