It is weird how some people become legends for all the wrong reasons. You’ve seen the photos—the pulled-back skin, the feline eyes, the heavy lips that earned her the "Catwoman" moniker. For decades, Jocelyn Wildenstein was the ultimate cautionary tale of New York high society. But if you’re looking for Jocelyn Wildenstein now, the story doesn’t end with a flashy party or a new surgery.
She passed away.
Honestly, it happened with a lot less fanfare than her life usually commanded. Jocelyn died on December 31, 2024, at the age of 84. She was in Paris, a city that always seemed to match her vibe better than the cold, judgmental streets of Manhattan. Her longtime partner, Lloyd Klein, was the one who found her. They were getting ready for New Year’s Eve, took a nap to "look good" for the night, and she just didn't wake up.
The Reality of Jocelyn Wildenstein Now
People always assumed she was living in some golden tower, swimming in the billions she won from her 1999 divorce from Alec Wildenstein. That settlement was legendary—$2.5 billion, plus $100 million a year for 13 years. But by the time she died, the money was mostly a ghost.
She filed for bankruptcy in 2018.
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Imagine having $0 in your checking account after being one of the richest women on the planet. It sounds like a movie script, but for Jocelyn, it was reality. She claimed her late ex-husband’s family cut her off in 2015, and those three massive luxury apartments she owned in Trump World Tower? Repossessed.
In her final years, she was reportedly living on about $900 a month in Social Security. Let that sink in for a second. The woman who once admitted to spending $1 million a month on food, wine, and travel was suddenly worrying about the same bills as everyone else.
Why the "Catwoman" Narrative Was Always Flawed
Jocelyn actually hated the nickname. She spent years trying to convince people that her look was natural—or at least inspired by her Swiss heritage. "If I show you pictures of my grandmother, what you see is these eyes," she once told Vanity Fair.
Nobody really believed her, of course.
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Alec Wildenstein used to say she treated her face "like a piece of furniture" that she could just fix. But toward the end, Jocelyn took control of the narrative. She had been filming a reality show and a documentary. She wanted the world to see the "real" her, not just the tabloid caricature.
The Mystery of the Unreleased Reality Show
The weirdest part about Jocelyn Wildenstein now is that there’s a whole show about her that we haven't seen. It was produced by the same team that did Keeping Up With The Kardashians. They filmed for about a month, following her move from Miami to Los Angeles.
- Status: The show is fully completed.
- The Problem: It still hasn't found a streaming home.
- The Content: Insiders say it shows a "happy, healthy" Jocelyn who was actually a joy to work with.
Lloyd Klein is still pushing to get it released. He wants a movie made, too—he’s even mentioned wanting Jennifer Lawrence to play a young Jocelyn. It’s a bit of a stretch, maybe, but Lloyd was always her biggest fan. He stood by her through the arrests, the fights, and the total loss of her fortune.
Health and the Final Days in Paris
A lot of people think she died from surgery complications, but that’s not true. She died from phlebitis, an inflammation of the veins that led to a blood clot. Her legs had become severely swollen, and according to Lloyd, the blockage eventually cut off oxygen to her brain.
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It’s a quiet, medical end for someone whose life was so loud.
A few days before she died, she was at the Ritz. She was at Chanel shows. She was "at the top of her game," as Lloyd put it. She wasn't some recluse hiding in a dark apartment; she was out in Paris, living the socialite life until the very last minute.
What We Can Learn From the Wildenstein Legacy
Jocelyn’s life is a weirdly perfect example of how the media can trap a person in a single image. She was the "Bride of Wildenstein," the "Catwoman," the "Surgical Strike." But underneath the skin, she was a mother of two and a woman who lost everything twice—first her marriage, then her billions.
If you’re following the updates on her estate, don't expect a massive inheritance battle over cash. The money is gone. The real legacy is the hours of footage sitting on a hard drive somewhere in Hollywood, waiting for a network to take a chance on the woman everyone thought they already knew.
What to watch for next:
Keep an eye on streaming announcements for the untitled Wildenstein docuseries. It’s the only way we’ll ever see the version of Jocelyn she actually wanted us to see. Also, watch the legal filings regarding the Wildenstein trust; Lloyd has hinted that there may still be claims to the family's art fortune that haven't been settled.