Socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein, who was known for her extreme plastic surgery and record divorce settlement, has died.
The 84-year-old – who was nicknamed Catwoman, reportedly because she had her numerous procedures done in the aim of looking feline – suffered a pulmonary embolism and passed away in a palace in Paris on Tuesday, according to local reports.
“Her partner Lloyd Klein is saddened to announce the death of Jocelyn Wildenstein in Paris,” according to AFP, reported Paris Match.
Ms Wildenstein, born Jocelyne Périsset, appeared healthy when she was last seen in the French capital with Mr Klein a mere two weeks ago.
Alongside her looks, Ms Wildenstein – who described herself as an art dealer on Instagram, where she had 1.1 million followers – was also known for her immense divorce settlement of $2.5 billion (£1.7 billion).
Born on 5 August, 1940, in Lausanne, Switzerland, not much is known about her upbringing in a middle-class family in Switzerland other than that she was the daughter of a struggling department-store buyer.
At the age of 17 her life changed – she started dating Swiss movie producer Cyril Piguet.
She later dated European filmmaker Sergio Gobbi for five years and spent a lot of her time exploring Africa, a continent she fell in love with.
Her life as a socialite let her move in elite circles across the world, with Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi introducing her to her future husband, the late Alec Wildenstein, while on safari with friends in Kenya in 1977.
After marrying the French-born American billionaire and former elite art dealer in 1978, she split from him in the late 1990s in one of the biggest divorce settlements in history.
Her penchant for surgery to make her face more cat-like has been widely reported as being done to please her horse-racing ex-husband.
Ms Wildenstein was also an accomplished hunter and pilot, and she had a love for art and decoration.
