Jocelyn Wildenstein

Jocelyn Wildenstein[1] (née Périsset; born August 5, 1940)[2] is an American socialite[3] known for her extensive cosmetic surgery, resulting in her catlike appearance; her 1999 high-profile divorce from billionaire art dealer and businessman Alec Wildenstein;[4][5] and her extravagant lifestyle and subsequent bankruptcy filing.

Jocelyn Wildenstein
Born	Jocelyn Périsset (1940-08-05) August 5, 1940 Lausanne, Switzerland
Occupation	Socialite
Known for	Extensive facial surgeries
Spouse(s)	Alec N. Wildenstein ​ ( m. 1978; div. 1999)
Children	2

Early life and relationships

Jocelynnys Dayannys da Silva Bezerra Périsset was born in Lausanne, Switzerland on August 5, 1940.[6][7] Her father worked in a sporting goods store.[2] She began dating Cyril Piguet, a Swiss movie producer, at the age of 17.[8] She later lived in Paris with Italian French filmmaker Sergio Gobbi.[9] While there, she became a skilled hunter and pilot.[3]

Périsset was introduced to Alec N. Wildenstein (of the wealthy family of renowned art dealers[10]) by Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi at a shooting weekend at the Wildenstein African ranch "Ol Jogi".[11] Périsset and Wildenstein were married when they were both in their 30s[8] and had two children together.[12]

The Wildensteins' divorce in 1999[4][11] was not amicable.[13] Jocelyn walked in on her husband and a 19-year-old Russian model in her bedroom at the Wildenstein New York home, and he threatened her with a gun.[14][15] This resulted in a night in jail for Alec Wildenstein.[15] The presiding judge, Marilyn Diamond, received death threats in the mail during the proceedings.[16] During her divorce, the judge stipulated that she could not use any alimony payments for further cosmetic surgery.[17] Jocelyn enlisted the services of Ed Rollins[9][18] for public relations assistance and (at various times) both Bernard Clair[9][19] and Kenneth Godt[20] for legal counsel.

Wildenstein began dating fashion designer Lloyd Klein[21] in 2003.[22] Following highly publicized domestic incidents,[23][21][22] the couple split in 2016.[22]

Cosmetic surgery

Wildenstein has had extensive cosmetic surgeries to her face.[24] Her catlike appearance[25][21] has led media outlets to nickname her "Catwoman", "The Lion Queen", and "The Bride of Wildenstein".[26] She denies having any plastic surgery, citing her Swiss heritage.[25]

Finances

Wildenstein is known for her extravagant lifestyle. She once calculated her yearly telephone bill at $60,000 and food and wine costs at $547,000.[10]

Wildenstein received $2.5 billion in her divorce settlement and $100 million each year for the following 13 years.[27] The judge stipulated that she could not use any alimony payments for further cosmetic surgery.[17]

Following her divorce, Wildenstein sold the marital home in New York to real estate developer Janna Bullock for $13 million.[28]

In 2018, she filed for bankruptcy.[29]

References

1. "The Crazy Life of Billionaire Socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein". Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
2. Konigsberg 1997, p. 34.
3. McCracken 2008, p. 25.
4. Dunford 2009, p. 181.
5. DeMello 2007, pp. 13, 36.
6. "The crazy life of billionaire socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein". The Independent. January 5, 2017.
7. UK, Lianna Brinded, Business Insider. "The crazy life of billionaire socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein". Business Insider.
8. Konigsberg 1997, p. 35.
9. Carlin, Peter Ames (January 26, 1998). "Surgical Strike". People Magazine. 49 (3). ISSN 0093-7673. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
10. Felder & Victor 2011.
11. Faith, Nicholas (February 22, 2008). "Alec Wildenstein: Art dealer and racehorse owner who divorced in a blaze of publicity". The Independent. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
12. Heigl, Alex (December 9, 2016). "The Famous Life and Face of Jocelyn Wildenstein". People. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
13. Crowley 2005, pp. 164–165.
14. "People & Places: Art dealer admits he pulled gun on wife". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. September 9, 2000. p. A2. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
15. Konigsberg 1997, p. 32.
16. Felder 2004, pp. 122–126.
17. Portmann 2004, p. 66.
18. Grove, Lloyd (June 9, 2000). "The Reliable Source". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
19. Gupte, Pranay (May 17, 2005). "It's Personal for a Top NYC Divorce Lawyer". The Sun. New York. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
20. "Jocelyn gives bankrupt beau the brush-off". New York Post. November 10, 1999. p. 30. Retrieved February 4, 2012. (subscription required) for full content.
21. Steinbuch, Yaron (July 31, 2017). "'Catwoman' gets engaged months after brawl with boyfriend".
22. "Jocelyn Wildenstein's Boyfriend Lloyd Klein Reveals What Happened the Night of the Attack". PEOPLE.com.
23. Prendergast, Daniel; Saul, Emily (November 5, 2017). "Catwoman and boyfriend arrested, again".
24. Jones 2008, p. 123.
25. McCarthy, Tyler (February 13, 2018). "'Catwoman' Jocelyn Wildenstein denies having any plastic surgery, cites her Swiss heritage". Fox News.
26. "The crazy life of billionaire socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein". PressFrom - AU.
27. Petridou, Ria (September 29, 2011). "Queens of plastic: Jocelyn Wildenstein". Fashion Love. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
28. Greene, Penelope (July 26, 2007). "Buy High, Sell Higher". The New York Times. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
29. Marsh, Julia; Keil, Jennifer Gould (May 17, 2018). "'Catwoman' files for bankruptcy". New York Post.

Bibliography – books

• Cottom, Daniel (2006), Unhuman culture (illustrated ed.), University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 978-0-8122-3956-0CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Crowley, Kieran (2005). Almost Paradise: The Murder of Multimillionaire Ted Ammon in the Hamptons. New York: St. Martin's. ISBN 978-0-312-99913-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• DeMello, Margo (2007). Encyclopedia of body adornment. Westport, CT: Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-33695-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Dunford, Martin (2009). The Rough Guide to New York City (11 ed.). London: Rough Guides. ISBN 978-0-8070-1618-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Felder, Raoul (2004). "The Wildenstein Divorce". Bare Knuckle Negotiation. Hoboken: Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-46333-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Felder, Raoul; Victor, Barbara (2011). "The Wildenstein Case". The Good Divorce: How to Walk Away Financially Sound and Emotionally Happy. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-59296-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Jones, Jessica Dorfman (2007). The Art of Cheating. New York: Pocket. ISBN 978-1-4165-4913-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Jones, Meredith (2008). Skintight: an Anatomy of Cosmetic Surgery. Oxford: Berg Publishers. ISBN 978-1-84520-669-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• McCracken, Grant David (2008). Transformations: Identity Construction in Contemporary Culture. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-21957-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Portmann, John (2004). Bad for Us: the lure of self-harm. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 978-0-8070-1618-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Tebbel, Cyndi (2000), The body snatchers: how the media shapes women (illustrated ed.), Sydney: Finch, ISBN 978-1-876451-07-3CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Bibliography – periodicals

• Konigsberg, Eric (December 15, 1997). "What Money Can't Buy". New York. 30 (48): 31–37, 109, 116. ISSN 0028-7369. Retrieved February 5, 2012.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)