She was worth billions before divorce left her bankrupt and surgery left her unrecognizable… can you guess who it is?
She is best known for her vibrant marriage and her numerous plastic surgeries that left her completely unrecognizable.
This Swiss-born socialite came from humble beginnings, but married a French-born American billionaire in the 1970s.
But more than twenty years later, the two made headlines with their messy divorce.
She became one of the richest people in the world after her divorce settlement, which left her with more than $2 billion, plus millions more each year.
But somehow she managed to lose it all after years of tinkering with her face and spending on countless luxury items.
Can you name this famous socialite?
She is known for her marriage to a wealthy art dealer, but after their divorce squandered billions and made herself unrecognizable through years of plastic surgery. Do you know who she is?
She is Jocelyn Wildenstein, who is also called the ‘Catwoman’ because of her pronounced cat eyes and lion-like facial features.
The 84-year-old high society figure – born Jocelyne Périsset – was married to the late art dealer and billionaire Alec N. Wildenstein, who was the son of French art dealer and horse breeder Daniel Wildenstein.
Their family controlled Wildenstein & Co., an influential art dealer in Paris.
While you’re talking to The Times of LondonJocelyn described how she became fascinated with Africa and its wildlife after finding a box of picture books about the continent as a child.
She later developed an interest in hunting and wildlife, which led her to the Wildenstein family farm Ol Jogi, located in Kenya.
There she was introduced to Alec on safari by Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi arms dealer.
Jocelyn remembered how Alec decided to kill a lion that had killed nearby antelope, so she accompanied him on a pre-dawn mission.
She told how, after her future husband shot the lion with one shot – plus a second for good measure – they ate part of the animal as a kind of trophy and rubbed the blood on their necks.
She is Jocelyn Wildenstein, the 84-year-old socialite dubbed the “Catwoman” for her distinctive facial features caused by multiple cosmetic procedures; seen in 2022 in NYC
Her throwback photo was taken at her late ex-husband Alec N. Wildenstein’s Kenyan ranch, where they met in 1977 before fleeing to Las Vegas in 1978; pictured in 2000 in Paris
“You have to eat some of the heart of your game,” she said. ‘It’s a legend. Perhaps to take over the lion’s power.’
Wildenstein, 84, looked beautifully youthful in the photo, which was taken at the farm of her ex-husband, Ol Jogi.
She wore a navy blue T-shirt with the ranch name printed on it and a lion’s head sticking out over her midriff.
Wildenstein highlighted her slim figure with tight tan cargo shorts that cut high on her thighs, and she added some sparkle to the functional ensemble with a gold luxury wristwatch.
The blonde beauty stood with her hand against a tree branch and covered her hair with a wide-brimmed straw hat. She brought a camera that dangled from a strap around her neck, along with her sunglasses.
‘My early years at Ol Jogi built this beautiful ranch from scratch before I had my children. This was my first love story with Africa and it started here at #oljogi,” she captioned the beautiful photo.
Although she did not date the photo, it appeared to have been taken in the late 1970s or early 1980s, early in her relationship with Wildenstein.
But by the ’90s, Jocelyn was completely unrecognizable after her face was transformed following numerous cosmetic procedures.
Jocelyn lived a life of luxury with Wildenstein, but they divorced in 2000, reportedly after she discovered his infidelity. She won a whopping $2.5 billion in the divorce, plus $100 million to be paid annually for 13 years; pictured in 1997 in Manhattan
But the lion-faced socialite squandered the fortune on extravagant purchases. She also claims that a painting that included part of her trust turned out to be a forgery, while another was auctioned for tens of millions less than expected; seen in 2017 in NYC
They left her with slanted cat eyes, a prominent chin and exaggerated cheekbones, which some compare to the face of a lion.
Despite the obvious change in her appearance, Wildenstein once bizarrely claimed that she had never had plastic surgery.
Recently, she admitted to having undergone a number of procedures, although she continues to downplay their impact.
In the wake of years of excessive spending and seemingly endless cosmetic procedures, Alec filed for divorce in 1999, although Jocelyn has said that she was the one who first decided to end the marriage due to her husband’s infidelity.
Although he filed for divorce in Switzerland, where Jocelyn was less likely to receive a significant divorce settlement, she ultimately received what should have been a windfall: a reported $2.5 billion.
In addition, her ex-husband would receive her $100 million per year for thirteen years, and later his estate after his death in 2008 at the age of 67.
However, her ex-husband’s family stopped the payments in 2015.
Despite acquiring more wealth than most people could ever imagine, Wildenstein managed to squander it through extravagant purchases of clothing, jewelry, art, and even tens of thousands of dollars in annual telephone bills.
The Swiss-born society figure began dating fashion designer Lloyd Klein in 2003, and the two later became engaged; seen on September 30 in Paris
Wildenstein was arrested in 2016 for assault after cutting Klein’s face with scissors, and days later he was arrested for theft and assault while allegedly trying to take his belongings from her apartment. But the two reunited and are together to this day; seen in 2017 in NYC
In 2018, she claimed to Page Six that the vast majority of her wealth had disappeared because one of the paintings that were part of the trust set up for her in the divorce settlement, attributed to Diego Velázquez, turned out to be a forgery, while a Cézanne , which was expected to fetch about $35 at auction, only sold for $4.7 million
After her divorce, Wildenstein began dating fashion designer Lloyd Klein in 2003.
The two later got engaged, but they have had a bumpy relationship over the years.
In 2016, Wildenstein was arrested for cutting Klein’s face with scissors during a fight in her Trump Tower apartment.
Klein was then arrested days later for theft and assault after allegedly trying to retrieve some of his belongings from Wildenstein’s apartment.
But the couple later reunited and they are an item to this day, even though they now spend most of their time in Miami.