Featured

New York Socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein, AKA ‘Catwoman,’ Cause of Death Revealed

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 8: Jocelyne Wildenstein is seen out and about on October 8, 2024 i
MEGA/GC Images

The cause of death for New York socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein — who was widely known both for her embrace of extreme plastic surgery and record divorce settlement — has been revealed.

Wildenstein’s longtime partner, fashion designer Lloyd Klein, told People the 84-year-old’s phlebitis diagnosis — which caused inflammation of the veins in her legs — resulted in pulmonary embolism that ultimately caused her death.

“Because of her phlebitis, the legs were very, very swollen, and the blood was blocked, and there was no oxygen in the brain,” Klein, who began dating Wildenstein in 2003, told the magazine.

The fashion designed explained that Wildenstein died on Tuesday, before their New Year’s Eve celebration, saying, “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.”

“We were having a nap and when I wake up, I said, ‘Jocelyn, we have to wake up, we have to get dressed,’ and she was cold and she was dead,” he added.

“It’s very sad. It’s extremely sad,” Klein said. “It’s extremely sad to lay down with your other half that I know for 21 years and waiting to celebrate New Year’s Eve and to find her cold.”

“We were at the Ritz two days ago. We were having dinner,” Klein recalled. “Before that, we had come for Fashion Week at Chanel. Everything was good.”

Wildenstein — born Jocelyne Périsset in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1940 — eloped in 1977 with billionaire art dealer Alec Wildenstein. The couple shared two children, Diane and Alec Jr.

In 1999, amid her divorce from the billionaire art dealer, Wildenstein rose to fame after captivating the public with her unique look, as well as after being awarded a $2.5 billion divorce settlement and another $100 million for 13 years afterward.

Wildenstein, whom tabloids dubbed “The Bride of Wildenstein” and “Catwoman” due to her surgically-altered appearance, had claimed during the divorce proceedings that she had undergone so many cosmetic procedures because her husband “hates to be with old people.”

Alec Wildenstein, however, had claimed otherwise, saying, “I would always find out [about the cosmetic procedures] 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,” he added.

Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

via January 2nd 2025