Her partner, Lloyd Klein, reportedly told AFP that Wildenstein died of a pulmonary embolism in a Parisian palace on Tuesday, per Daily Mail.
Wildenstein’s obsession with plastic surgery has been well-documented over the years.
Yet in February, she claimed she had never had plastic surgery.
“I haven’t had plastic surgery,” the one-time society fixture told The Sun.
She rebuffed the notion that her distinct facial features were due to plastic surgery, however.
The New York socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein, also known as “The Catwoman,” passed away. 84 was her age.
The Daily Mail reports that Wildenstein passed away in a Parisian palace on Tuesday due to a pulmonary embolism, as her partner Lloyd Klein told AFP.
According to The Mayo Clinic, a pulmonary embolism is a blood clot that obstructs and terminates blood flow to a lung artery.
Usually, the blood clot starts in a deep vein in the leg and moves to the lung. In rare instances, the clot may develop in a vein in a different body part.
She first gained notoriety in the late 1990s when she filed for divorce from her wealthy art collector husband, Alec Wildenstein, after finding him having an affair with a 19-year-old Russian model. Wildenstein is famous for her cat-like features and her addiction to plastic surgery. “.”.
The Swiss native, who was born Jocelyne Périsset, wed Alec in 1978.
She received a settlement of $2.05 billion from her divorce, making her one of the richest people in the world. Additionally, Alec granted her an additional $100 million in yearly payments for 13 years.
But the enormous fortune had vanished by 2018. As stated in an affidavit, Wildenstein declared bankruptcy in New York, stating, “I am unemployed and my only source of income is Social Security.”. “.”.
“I frequently look to friends and family to cover my ongoing costs,” she continued.
Following her divorce from Alec, who passed away in 2008 at the age of 67, Wildenstein started a turbulent, two-decade romance with fashion designer Lloyd Klein in 2003.
When Wildenstein was arrested in 2016 for allegedly using scissors to cut her lover’s face during a fight at her Trump Tower apartment in New York, they made headlines. A few days later, Klein was accused of trying to take his possessions out of the apartment and was charged with robbery and assault.
Following their eventual reconciliation, the couple reportedly remained together until the socialite’s death.
Over the years, Wildenstein’s obsession with plastic surgery has been extensively documented. She did, however, assert in February that she had never undergone plastic surgery.
According to The Sun, the former society mainstay stated, “I haven’t had plastic surgery.”. “I dislike having something heavy, and I’m afraid of what might happen.”. It can be awful and a little heavy at times. “.”.
During her marriage to Alec, whom she once characterized as “hating old people,” Wildstein reportedly started having surgeries. “”.
According to some reports, she wanted to resemble a cat because her husband was a huge cat lover.
She had a pet lynx, so Alec and Wildstein’s friends surmised that she wanted to resemble one.
In 1998, she told Vanity Fair, “The lynx has perfect eyes.”. However, she rejected the idea that plastic surgery was the cause of her unique facial features. At the time, she remarked, “If I show you pictures of my grandmother, what you see are these eyes — cat eyes — and high cheekbones.”.
Wildstein’s son Alec Jr. and daughter Diane survive her.
The story is still in progress.
