Jocelyn Wildenstein used to be a frequent subject of tabloid scrutiny due to her socialite status. She was often dubbed “Catwoman” because of her fondness for felines and her distinctive facial features.

Jocelyn hailed from Lausanne, Switzerland, where she spent her formative years as the daughter of a department store buyer facing financial challenges. As much as they weren’t rich, she said her childhood was incredible.

Jocelyn also learned how to swim and ski when she was aged around four or five. She explained, “We were on the lake, so in the summer I would swim, and in the winter we had the mountain very close where we could go to ski. It was a very nice life, good quality.”

The socialite’s life began changing when she went to college. She would hang out with her friends in Lausanne, Switzerland drinking coffee, tea, or juice but not alcohol. By the time she reached her twenties in 1967, she had relocated to Paris.

During this time, she was in a relationship with Sergio Gobbi, a European filmmaker, whom she had been dating for five years. After Paris, the socialite embarked on a decade-long adventure exploring Africa.

Jocelyn found that Africa was wild and a dreamland. This wasn’t her first time falling in love with the continent. She had fallen in love with it since childhood, inspired by her father’s collection of books about the continent.

Entranced by the images of its landscapes and wildlife, she made a vow to visit one day. True to her word, she embarked on the journey, fulfilling her childhood dream.

During these moments, Jocelyn wasn’t famous yet. She later became renowned for her extravagant marriage and subsequent divorce from billionaire art collector Alec Wildenstein. Her lavish lifestyle also captured public attention in 1998 when news of the pair’s divorce emerged.

At the time, Jocelyn disclosed spending over $700,000 annually on luxuries like food, wine, flowers, and medications. Following the divorce, she reportedly received one of the largest settlements in history, rumored to exceed $2.5 billion.

After her divorce, Jocelyn opened up about how she fell in love with Alec at 31, while in Kenya. The art collector had gone to inspect his family’s 66,000-acre ranch and Jocelyn, who was on safari with friends accompanied him to kill a lion at a neighbor’s ranch.

On their first day together, the pair rode their motorcycles to a hilltop and had their first kiss, which Jocelyn described as “quite intense.” The duo went on to get married in 1978 and had two kids, Diane and Alec Wildenstein Jr.

After parting ways in 1999, Alec alleged that aside from good health and a love for Africa, he and Jocelyn had nothing in common. So after the kids moved away to college their fights became constant and Jocelyn was hysterical, shocking the servants with her language and behavior.

Jocelyn denied all this, saying they only had arguments like any other couple without escalation. When the socialite’s dad died in Kenya, she flew to the country but Alec stayed behind only to come 14 days later.

The mom of two accused Alec of delaying the funeral but the art collector argued that Jocelyn was looking for an ebony coffin and perfect burial spot so that she could maintain appearances.

Everything went well with the funeral and Alec gave a nice speech, but three weeks later, he told Jocelyn that their marriage was over. It is after their divorce, that Alec, who had once called Jocelyn an exciting woman, made accusations about her excess use of plastic surgery.

According to Alec, they had been married for a year when she told him that his eyes looked baggy. Together, they got eye-lifts and this marked the start of the socialite’s consistent use of plastic surgery.

Jocelyn would go behind Alec’s back to get her body worked on “She was crazy. I would always find out last. She was thinking that she could fix her face like a piece of furniture. Skin does not work that way. But she wouldn’t listen,” lamented Alec.

A friend of the socialite also accused her of harming her body with plastic surgery because the pal couldn’t recall a time when Jocelyn wasn’t healing from something. Before long, her face became so taut that she struggled to blink.

Friends also suspected Jocelyn altered her eyes to look like a jungle cat. The socialite dismissed these comments, noting that her eyes were natural. “If I show you pictures of my grandmother, what you see is these eyes, cat eyes, and high cheekbones,” revealed Jocelyn.

Jocelyn, who had also accused Alec of pushing her to do face lifts, asserting that he hated to be with old people, changed this statement, saying that her ex-husband always told her that she looked very young. The socialite was just worried that one day she wouldn’t look young enough.

Still, the socialite asserted that Alec, who passed away in 2008, embellished the extent of her surgical procedures. Instead, she attributed her distinctive high cheekbones to her Swiss heritage.

The socialite argued that her pictures from when she was 17 and 18 show that she always had cat eyes. Jocelyn said that despite Alec knowing this, he had chosen the story that she overindulged in plastic surgery because it stuck to her like glue.

“But the friends I had in Africa, or some friends I’ve had since we were 17, 20, 23 years old, they know me,” Jocelyn defended herself. She added, “I have nothing to prove, In the end, I don’t care.”

How Jocelyn Wildenstein Might Have Looked Without Plastic Surgery

The accusations that Jocelyn overindulged in plastic surgery made many people wonder how she would have looked today without the changes. With these AI-generated photos, we can get a glimpse of how Jocelyn would have looked today minus cosmetic surgery.

In these pictures, we can see that her face would have looked more relaxed and natural today had she not used plastic surgery to alter her appearance.

These AI-created images reveal that Jocelyn could have still had her cat-like eyes without plastic surgery. However, the Switzerland native’s face would have shown the natural signs of aging.

In this image, we see how Jocelyn’s high eyebrows and pronounced cheekbones might have looked on a more natural face, lined with wrinkles and the slight hollowing of her cheeks.

Overall, these striking images reveal that Jocelyn could have still kept her striking appearance had she not undergone so many cosmetic procedures. However, they also reveal that she might have looked more natural.

In August 2024, Jocelyn took to Instagram to share a throwback of herself and Diane, in honor of her daughter’s birthday, and gave the public another glimpse at how she looked before cosmetic enhancements.

“Wow, she was really a beautiful woman,” one person commented. “More natural, is more beautiful,” another person shared. A third typed, “Love the ’90s lokk!!!!”

Jocelyn Wildenstein’s Money Problems

Aside from her journey with plastic surgery, Jocelyn, who was once a billionaire, also made headlines when her fortune dwindled. In May 2018, the socialite sought federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Her filing revealed a stark financial reality, including a zero balance in her Citibank account and a reliance on $900 monthly Social Security payments.

Despite her financial woes, she still possessed valuable assets, including a luxurious Manhattan apartment in the Trump World Tower valued at $11.75 million and a 2006 Bentley worth $35,000.

However, looming debts, totaling millions, painted a less rosy picture. Jocelyn owed over $300,000 to various legal entities, with her apartment facing foreclosure due to a $4.6 million debt.

Her sizable divorce settlement from Alec evaporated, and financial woes plagued her. Still, she claimed her money problems stemmed not from extravagant spending but from issues with the trust she received post-divorce.

Allegedly, the trust’s assets, including a Diego Velázquez painting later deemed a forgery and an undervalued Cézanne artwork, failed to provide the expected financial security. She revealed plans to pursue legal action against her trust, with the hope to reclaim what she believed was rightfully hers.

However, her former attorney, Douglas Pick, expressed confusion over why no lawsuit was initiated regarding the disputed artwork. Additionally, the socialite had moved on with another man, causing her to face troubles beyond financial matters. She and her fiancé, Lloyd Klein, faced assault charges related to alleged altercations between them.

After these misfortunes, Jocelyn led a low-key life but in 2023, she chose to participate in a two-part docuseries with HBO. She gave interviews before its release, revealing how she was now spending her life.

Jocelyn is also focused on Ol Jogi Wildlife Conservancy, the Wildenstein family ranch in Kenya, which provides sanctuary to 2,000 animals, safeguarding them under protection. While boasting an array of wildlife, notably absent are lions, deemed a threat to the very creatures the ranch seeks to preserve.

In Africa, Jocelyn initiated a school tailored for youths aged approximately 15 or 16, akin to an apprenticeship, aiming to instill confidence, provide employment opportunities, and pave the way for their future.

Moreover, she oversaw the construction of 80 dams to address the arid conditions, ensuring the animals have access to water. Additionally, she spearheaded the establishment of a clinic dedicated to the welfare of the animals.

Now, Jocelyn is 83. She has lived an adventurous life in Switzerland, France, and Africa and has done lots of traveling in other regions. Having a rocky marriage and tumultuous divorce did not stop her from finding love again.

The socialite also no longer cares what people say about her appearance, having decided that she has nothing to prove to anyone. She is living life on the low, satisfied with her choices, and calls herself a global icon for all she has done, has been through, and is still standing strong.