“Catwoman” Jocelyn Wildenstein’s Fiancé, Lloyd Klein, Shares Details of Her Final Moments at 84

Klein revealed that Wildenstein passed away “peacefully” in her sleep after they took a nap before their New Year’s Eve celebrations. The couple is pictured together in September 2022 in New York City.

“We were taking a nap, and when I woke up, I said, ‘Jocelyn, we need to wake up and get dressed,’ but she was cold and had passed away,” he recalled. The couple is pictured together in 2019 in Miami, Florida.

Klein stated that Wildenstein had been battling phlebitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels. AFP reported that she passed away from a pulmonary embolism, a condition where a blood clot obstructs blood flow to the lungs. The couple is pictured together in May 2023 in Los Angeles.

The star flashed a smile at onlookers, dressed in a fur jacket, leggings, and boots, with black sunglasses and her blonde hair styled in soft waves over her shoulders.

After her divorce from Alec N. Wildenstein, Jocelyn began a relationship with Klein in 2003.

The couple eventually became engaged, though their relationship faced challenges over the years.

In 2016, Wildenstein was arrested for slashing Klein’s face with scissors during a confrontation at her Trump Tower apartment.

Klein was arrested a few days later on charges of robbery and assault after attempting to retrieve some of his belongings from Wildenstein’s apartment.

Despite the turmoil, the couple eventually reconciled.

The Swiss-born socialite, who had over a million followers on Instagram, identified herself as an “art dealer.”

Coming from modest beginnings, she later married a French-born American billionaire in the 1970s.

He recalled that “everything was good” in his final days with his fiancée, mentioning that Wildenstein, who had been with him in Paris, was “very happy” and “at the top of her game” during that time. The couple is pictured together in May 2023 in Los Angeles.

Here, she is seen at a much younger age, holding a child.

Over two decades later, the couple made headlines again with their tumultuous divorce.

Following the settlement, she became one of the wealthiest people in the world, with more than $2 billion, plus millions more annually.

However, despite her newfound fortune, she eventually lost it all after years of undergoing cosmetic procedures and indulging in extravagant luxuries.

Jocelyn was married to the late art dealer and billionaire Alec N. Wildenstein, the son of French art dealer and horse breeder Daniel Wildenstein. The Wildenstein family ran Wildenstein & Co., a prestigious Paris-based art dealership.

In an interview with The Times of London, Jocelyn shared how, as a child, she became captivated by Africa and its wildlife after discovering a box of picture books about the continent.

Her growing passion for hunting and wildlife eventually led her to the Wildenstein family ranch, Ol Jogi, in Kenya, where she was introduced to Alec during a safari by Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.

Wildenstein was previously married to Alec N. Wildenstein. The two met at his family’s African ranch in 1977 and eloped to Las Vegas in 1978. They are pictured together in Paris in 2000.

Jocelyn enjoyed a life of luxury with Wildenstein, but the couple divorced in 2000, reportedly after she uncovered his infidelities. In the divorce settlement, she was awarded an impressive $2.5 billion, along with $100 million annually for 13 years. They are pictured together in 1997 in Manhattan.

However, the lion-faced socialite squandered her fortune on lavish purchases. She also claimed that a painting from her trust turned out to be a forgery, and another was sold at auction for tens of millions less than anticipated. She is seen here in 2017 in New York City.

Jocelyn recalled how Alec decided to hunt a lion that had been killing nearby antelope, and she joined him on a pre-dawn mission. She described how, after Alec took down the lion with one shot — plus a second for good measure — they ate part of the animal as a trophy and smeared its blood on their necks.

“You must eat part of the heart of your game,” she said. “It’s legend. Maybe to take the power of the lion.”

By the 1990s, Jocelyn became nearly unrecognizable due to extensive cosmetic surgeries that transformed her face. The surgeries gave her slanted cat-like eyes, a prominent chin, and exaggerated cheekbones, features that some compared to a lion’s face.

Despite the dramatic change in her appearance, Wildenstein once strangely claimed that she had never undergone plastic surgery.

Alec, however, did comment on her transformation. In an interview with Vanity Fair, he said, “She was crazy. I would always find out last. She thought she could fix her face like a piece of furniture. Skin doesn’t work that way. But she wouldn’t listen.”

Wildenstein fired back, claiming that Alec “hired a publicist and paid a plastic surgeon to certify that I completely changed my face” in an attempt to win the divorce.

Wildenstein was arrested for assault in 2016 after allegedly slashing Klein’s face with scissors. Days later, Klein was arrested for robbery and assault after reportedly trying to retrieve his belongings from her apartment. Despite the tumultuous events, the couple reconciled and remains together to this day. They are seen here in 2017 in New York City.

More recently, Jocelyn acknowledged undergoing some procedures, though she minimized their impact.

After years of extravagant spending and seemingly endless cosmetic surgeries, Alec filed for divorce in 1999. However, Jocelyn has stated that she was the one to initially end the marriage due to her husband’s infidelities.

Though Alec filed for divorce in Switzerland, where Jocelyn was less likely to secure a large settlement, she ultimately received a reported $2.5 billion. Additionally, she was set to receive $100 million annually for 13 years from her ex-husband, and later his estate following his death in 2008 at the age of 67.

However, in 2015, Alec’s family cut off the payments.

Despite acquiring more wealth than most could imagine, Wildenstein managed to squander it on extravagant purchases, including clothing, jewelry, art, and even tens of thousands of dollars in annual phone bills.

In 2018, she told Page Six that most of her wealth disappeared because one of the paintings from her divorce trust, initially attributed to Diego Velázquez, turned out to be a forgery. Additionally, a Cézanne that was expected to sell for around $35 million at auction only fetched $4.7 million.