Originally appeared on E! Online
More details about Jocelyn Wildenstein’s death have come to light.
The Swiss socialite, who was known for her cosmetically enhanced cat-like look, died hours before her New Year’s celebration, her longtime partner Lloyd Klein confirmed.
“We had a nice happy hour the same night,” Lloyd told People in an interview published Jan. 1. “We were getting ready for the new year, and we took a little nap just to look good before getting dressed.”
The fashion designer noted that Jocelyn’s phlebitis diagnosis—which causes an inflammation of the veins in her legs—caused the pulmonary embolism that ultimately killed her.
“Because of her phlebitis, the legs were very, very swollen, and the blood was blocked, and there was no oxygen in the brain,” he explained to the outlet. “When I wake up, I said, ‘Jocelyn, we have to wake up, we have to get dressed,’ and she was cold and she was dead.”
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Lloyd, who began dating Jocelyn in 2003, emphasized that his longtime love was “perfect” days before her death.
“We were at the Ritz two days ago,” he recalled. “We were having dinner. Before that, we had come for Fashion Week at Chanel. Everything was good, everything was good.”
“It’s very sad,” he reflected. “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.”
Jocelyn—nicknamed “Catwoman” and “The Bride of Wildenstein” due to her cosmetic transformation—rose to fame in 1999 amid her public divorce from billionaire art dealer Alec Wildenstein after captivating the public with her unique look.
In fact, cosmetic surgery became a facet of her life after she and her ex-husband underwent his-and-hers facelift.
“She was thinking that she could fix her face like a piece of furniture,” Alec told Vanity Fair in 1998. “Skin does not work that way. But she wouldn’t listen.”
After a two-year legal battle, Jocelyn was ultimately awarded a $2.5 billion settlement and $100 million for 13 years afterward. Two years later, Jocelyn met Lloyd.
Lawrence Schwartzwald/Sygma via Getty Images
“Jocelyn is a wonderful lady, she is extremely refined and is a woman of great taste,” he told Page Six in 2017. “She is a very whimsical, magical, very special and beautiful person. Yes, she is different. She has something other people do not have.”
Although Jocelyn’s looks have been the subject of headlines throughout her public career, he emphasized that she was far more than that. In fact, part of her philanthropic efforts involved creating water sources and funding clinics for animals in Africa.
“She’s known for plastic surgery,” he told Interview Magazine in 2023, “but I don’t know that this is what she should be known for because she did a lot of incredible things in her life. Major, major, major achievements.”
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