A look back at ‘Catwoman’ Jocelyn Wildenstein’s drastic transformation as she passes away at age 84
Jocelyn Wildenstein, the woman known for her drastically changing face and alleged cosmetic procedures, has died at the age of 84.
The socialite, who was nicknamed Catwoman for her pronounced cat eyes and lion-like facial features, has certainly undergone some transformation over the years, but at one point even denied that she had undergone any plastic surgery.
Jocelyn was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 5, 1940, and it is reported that she began undergoing cosmetic procedures after marrying Alec N. Wildenstein in April 1978.
Over the years, she developed slanted cat eyes, a prominent chin and exaggerated cheekbones.
However, she was convinced that her appearance did not stem from plastic surgery, but rather from her Swiss heritage.
Her ex-husband Alec, who died in February 2008, told a different story.
He once said: ‘She thought she could fix her face like a piece of furniture. That’s not how the skin works. But she wouldn’t listen.’
Throwback photos of Jocelyn prove that she didn’t have to do that because she was certainly a natural beauty before she reportedly went under the knife.
Jocelyn Wildenstein, who has died aged 84, underwent a dramatic transformation over the years. She is pictured on the left when she was younger and on the right in 2017
Jocelyn was last seen here in Paris on December 18 with her fiancé Lloyd Klein
Speculation about her face began in the late 1990s, during her divorce from Alec N. Wildenstein. Jocelyn is pictured here in February 1999
In a photo she shared on Instagram in August, Jocelyn was seen as a baby with her daughter Diane – and she looked radiant with normal-sized facial features.
It is believed that Jocelyn in the photo was 39 or 40 years old, but by the time she was in her 50s, her face looked very different.
During her divorce from Alec in 1999, Jocelyn claimed that she continued to undergo cosmetic procedures, in part because Alec “hated being around old people.”
However, she had insisted Vanity fair the year before, her feline facial features were actually natural.
‘The lynx has perfect eyes. When I show you pictures of my grandmother, you see these eyes – cat eyes – and high cheekbones,” Jocelyn said.
But Alec ignored her quotes, telling his ex-wife’s magazine: ‘She was crazy. I would always be the last to find out.
‘She thought she could fix her face like a piece of furniture. That’s not how the skin works. But she wouldn’t listen.’
According to reports, Jocelyn received $2.5 billion for the divorce, along with another $100 million per year for the next 13 years.
Jocelyn’s ex-husband Alec, pictured here in 2000, claimed she was ‘trying to fix her face like a piece of furniture’
The socialite, pictured here in 1998, credited her Swiss background with her ‘high cheekbones and long hair’
As part of the settlement, the judge in their divorce case reportedly ordered Jocelyn not to spend any of the settlement money on cosmetic procedures.
Despite the obvious change in her appearance, Jocelyn once bizarrely claimed that she had never had plastic surgery.
In a 2018 interview with DailyMailTV alongside her fashion designer and then-fiancé Lloyd Klein, the Swiss-born Manhattan socialite explained that her distinct look dated back to her youth.
She credited her Swiss background with her “high cheekbones and long hair,” which she said helped her channel French actress Brigitte Bardot.
‘It’s wild. When we go to restaurants or French places, they usually say, ‘Hello, Brigitte.’ And I said, “Actually, you look like Brigitte Bardot,” Lloyd said.
“And I don’t understand all the press and the Catwoman thing, because Jocelyn always looked like that.
‘She never really did anything to change her face. I have photos from 16 years old where she looks exactly the same as she does today.”
When asked if she has had surgery, Jocelyn replied: ‘No, especially when we look back at my photos – of course I think I might be more beautiful [back then].
Jocelyn, seen here in 2003, claimed to have had Botox only twice in her life
Lloyd said in a 2018 interview that Jocelyn “has never really done anything to change her face.” They are seen together in 2006
‘When we are young, there is a certain freshness that we lose with age. But you still find the same eyes, the same high cheeks or the same nose. I think I was prettier.”
Jocelyn doubled down on her denial in a more recent November 2024 interview with The Sun.
“I haven’t had any plastic surgery, I’m afraid of what might happen and I don’t like having anything heavy, sometimes it’s a bit heavy and terrible,” she told the publication.
She also said that she had not had any fillers and had heard unhappy stories from those who had.
“I don’t like the Botox,” she said, before adding, “Everyone reacts to it differently.
‘I’ve only had Botox twice. I don’t know if I’m allergic, but when I had it, I didn’t do well. It wasn’t a good result, my face swelled up.’