Jocelyn Wildenstein, the Swiss socialite known for her love of plastic surgery, died on Tuesday at the age of 84.
The tabloid fixture’s longtime partner, Lloyd Klein, told People that Wildenstein died in her sleep due to complications from phlebitis, a form of inflammation in the veins which causes blood clots.
The Sunday Times later confirmed her cause of death to be a pulmonary embolism.
“Because of her phlebitis, the legs were very, very swollen, and the blood was blocked, and there was no oxygen in the brain,” Klein told People.
The two took a nap together, he said, but she never woke up. “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.”
Dubbed the “Catwoman” for her dramatic cosmetic enhancements, Wildenstein first came into public consciousness as a New York society figure following her 1978 marriage to billionaire art dealer Alec Wildenstein.
The pair’s contentious 1997 divorce and subsequent legal battle was covered relentlessly by the New York press.
The Wildensteins ultimately finalized their divorce two years later. The socialite reportedly received a $2.5 billion settlement upfront, along with an additional $100 million per year in annual payments.
Despite her substantial divorce judgment, Wildenstein found herself in dire financial straits decades later.
She filed for bankruptcy in 2018, later telling The Sunday Times she had a “huge problem” with her settlement.
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“Since eight years, they have completely cut me off,” Wildenstein said in a 2023 interview.
The Times also reported that in the year prior to her death, the socialite had shot the pilot for a reality show following her move from Miami to Los Angeles. The project had not found a network before her death.
Wildenstein is survived by Klein and her two children, Diane Wildenstein and Alec Wildenstein Jr.