Swiss socialite Jocelyne Wildenstein, known as “Catwoman” because of her extensive cosmetic surgery, has died aged 79, her partner said on Wednesday.

“It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that Mr. Lloyd Klein announces the unexpected death of his beloved fiancée and long-time companion Jocelyne Wildenstein,” the fashion designer said in an English-language statement to AFP.

“Ms. Wildenstein died peacefully in her sleep in the late afternoon of December 31, 2024, in her … suite in Paris, where the couple had been temporarily residing since August 2024,” he added.

He tried to wake her from a nap so she could prepare for New Year’s Eve dinner, but she didn’t respond, he said.

“Initial reports from doctors called to the scene indicate that she had suffered heart failure and fell asleep peacefully,” Klein added.

Jocelyn Perisset was born in Switzerland in 1945 and became a New York socialite after marrying art dealer Alec Wildenstein, with whom she had two children.

She kept his name after their messy divorce in the late 1990s.

The plastic surgery enthusiast, who has more than a million followers on Instagram, became known in the tabloids as “Catwoman” because of the cat-like shape of her eyes.

She has been living between New York and Miami in recent months, she told French media.

– “Divorce Worth $2.5 Billion” –

Wildenstein last posted a video on December 23 of her and Klein posing for photographers outside the Ritz Paris to the soundtrack of Wham’s “Last Christmas.”

“I never wanted to change my face,” she told French television news channel C8 this fall, although she admitted that she might have wished for slightly thicker lips.

She denied rumors that she had plastic surgery to keep her ex-husband.

According to Klein, she received $2.5 billion from her divorce, making it one of the most expensive of her time.

When asked if she had found love again, she replied that she had found love with Klein, who was 21 years younger than her.

Klein and Wildenstein “met during New York Fashion Week 2001 when Lloyd presented his fashion collection on the runway,” he said in his written statement.

“She was a front row guest and after that show the two became romantically linked and have been inseparable ever since.”

“Jocelyne was my best friend, my partner, my fiancée. She had a zest for life and a wicked sense of humor,” he added.

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