UPDATE 1/2/25 at 10:10 a.m. ET — Jocelyn Wildenstein’s longtime partner, Lloyd Klein, has revealed the likely cause of her death at age 84.
Klein told People that Wildenstein died peacefully in her sleep after battling phlebitis, which the Cleveland Clinic describes as inflammation of the veins near your skin due to blood clots.
“Because of her phlebitis, the legs were very, very swollen, and the blood was blocked, and there was no oxygen in the brain,” Lloyd told the outlet. “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.”
He added, “It’s very sad. … It’s extremely sad to lay down with your other half that I have known for 21 years and waiting to celebrate New Year’s Eve and to find her cold.”
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Jocelyn Wildenstein died on Tuesday, December 31. She was 84.
Wildenstein’s partner, Lloyd Klein, told AFP that the Swiss socialite died in Paris while staying in a palace after suffering a pulmonary embolism, according to Paris Match. A pulmonary embolism is a blood clot that “blocks and stops blood flow” to an artery in the lung, per the Mayo Clinic.
An “icon is gone,” Klein told the outlet, noting he is in “pain” over the loss of Wildenstein.
Prior to her death, Wildenstein (born Jocelyne Périsset) made headlines for her extreme plastic surgery that made her resemble a feline. The work led to her being dubbed “Catwoman.”
After her first surgery in the late ’70s, fans began comparing Wildenstein’s eye lift to that of a lynx, which he had as a pet.
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Jocelyn was also known for her marriage to billionaire art dealer Alec Wildenstein. The two wed in 1978 and divorced in 1999. Their split and legal battle was heavily covered by the media.
Alec told Vanity Fair at the time of their split that he had no say in how much surgery his wife had, despite reports that he encouraged her to change her appearance.
“She was crazy. I would always find out last,” he alleged, according to The Times. “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.”
Jocelyn told The Times in June 2023 that Alec “hired a publicist and paid a plastic surgeon to certify that I completely changed my face” so he could “win the divorce.”
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However, it was Jocelyn — who was also called “the Bride of Wildenstein” in the press because of her surgeries — who won in the end. She was reportedly awarded $2.5 billion in the divorce.
She allegedly received an additional $100 million for each of the next 13 years. “They will live happily ever after — but separately,” Alec’s lawyer allegedly said at the time, per The Times. (Alec died in 2008 after a battle with cancer.)
Jocelyn moved on with Klein in 2003, whom she met after attending one of his Lloyd Klein Couture fashion shows. The designer reportedly proposed to Jocelyn in 2017 at the Versace Mansion in Miami.
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In 2023, Klein claimed that Jocelyn had run out of money. She later alleged she hadn’t received any payments from the Wildensteins since 2015, which resulted in her filing for bankruptcy three years later.
“I have a huge problem with my settlement,” Jocelyn told The Times in June 2023. “Since eight years, they have completely cut me off.” Her lack of funds led Jocelyn to star in her own HBO docuseries in 2023.
Jocelyn is survived by her and Alec’s children, son Alec Jr. and daughter Diane.
