Mourning for "cat lady"

Jocelyn Wildenstein died “peacefully in her sleep”

Mourning for the society lady Jocelyn Wildenstein, who became famous as "Catwoman". She was 84 years old.

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The dazzling socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein is dead. The socialite known as the "cat lady" died "peacefully in her sleep" on New Year's Eve at the age of 84, as confirmed by her fiancé, fashion designer Lloyd Klein.

A blackened square was shared on Wildenstein's Instagram account a few hours before the New Year. It read: "I'm in paradise." However, the post was deleted a short time later.

Never woke up after a nap
Instead, Klein confirmed the death of his fiancée, who had been nicknamed the "cat woman" due to her eccentric appearance, to People magazine. As the fashion designer explained, Wildenstein had gone down for a nap before New Year's Eve, but never woke up again.

Fashion designer Lloyd Klein confirmed the death of his fiancée Jocelyn Wildenstein.

(Bild: APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Craig Barritt)

"We were planning a nice happy hour in the evening and wanted to get ready for the new year and took a nap to look good before getting dressed," the 56-year-old fashion designer explained.

Klein explained that the Swiss socialite had been suffering from phlebitis, an inflammation of the veins, but had been in good spirits recently despite her swollen legs. According to the doctors' initial assessment, the 84-year-old died of heart failure in her sleep, he explained.

Klein said he was shocked by the death of his partner of many years. "We had a nap and when I woke up, I said: 'Jocelyn, we have to wake up, we have to get up.' And she was cold and she was dead."

Fiancé shocked by death
It was "very sad. It's extremely sad," Klein said of his fiancée's passing. "It's so terribly sad to lay down with your better half, who I've known for 21 years, and wait to celebrate New Year's Eve and then find her lifeless."

Born in Switzerland, Jocelyn Wildenstein was married to the billionaire and art dealer Alec Wildenstein. She divorced him in 1999. Wildenstein not only kept her ex-husband's surname, but also received 2.5 billion dollars from him. She had been in a relationship with Klein, 21 years her junior, since 2001.

Wildenstein was nicknamed the "cat lady"
The society lady's trademark was her slanted eyes and high cheekbones. With every beauty operation, all of which she never confirmed, Wildenstein looked more and more like a cat, which earned her the nickname "Catwoman".