Swiss "cat woman" Jocelyn Wildenstein dies at the age of 84
Jocelyn Wildenstein, the Swiss woman known as the "cat woman", has died at the age of 84. Her fiancé and long-time partner Lloyd Klein released a statement on Wednesday announcing the "unexpected death" of the celebrity.
02.01.2025, 05:10
02.01.2025, 07:27
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- Jocelyne Wildenstein, known as the "Cat Lady", died peacefully in her sleep of heart failure in a hotel suite in Paris.
- The 84-year-old gained fame through her marriage to Alec Wildenstein, her divorce with a 2.5 billion dollar settlement and her extraordinary penchant for plastic surgery.
- With her partner Lloyd Klein, with whom she had been in a relationship since 2001, she published an Instagram video in front of the Ritz Hotel shortly before her death.
According to the video, she died "peacefully in her sleep" in a hotel suite where the couple had been staying since August 2024. According to Klein, he tried in vain late on Tuesday afternoon to wake his partner after a nap so that she could get ready for the New Year's Eve party. According to the doctors' initial assessment, the 84-year-old died of heart failure in her sleep, he explained.
The Swiss woman had risen to high society in New York through her marriage to the art dealer Alec Wildenstein. The couple, who had two children, ended their marriage in the late 1990s with a turbulent divorce. Jocelyn Wildenstein not only kept her ex-husband's surname, but also received 2.5 billion dollars from him. She had been in a relationship with Klein, 21 years her junior, since 2001.
Wildenstein was particularly well known for her passion for plastic surgery. Because of the feline shape of her eyes, she was nicknamed the "cat woman" by the tabloid press. She had more than one million subscribers on Instagram. She published her last video on December 23. It showed her to the sounds of the Wham Christmas hit "Last Christmas" with Klein in front of the Ritz Hotel in Paris.
