Inside The Catwoman's secret, violent life: From rumored courtesan to billionaire socialite, how Jocelyn Wildenstein's private obsession drove her to spectacular fame... and excess
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Nearly 30 years ago, as billionaire Jocelyn Wildenstein's fabulously juicy divorce captivated the global aristocracy and the common reader, the feline-featured socialite held court in a corner of the Manhattan townhouse that she was still permitted to use.
![[At the time, Jocelyn was ending her marriage to French art dealer Alec Wildenstein (pictured), the descendant of a family worth billions and believed to be in possession of the world's largest private collection of masterpieces, vaults of paintings and a rumored, long hidden and priceless work by Johannes Vermeer.]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/02/16/93671353-14242473-image-m-13_1735835553137.jpg)
Newly christened by the newspapers as the 'Bride of Wildenstein', Jocelyn, then 52, served champagne to a New York Magazine profile writer and batted down speculation that her increasingly bizarre cat-like appearance had nothing to do with cosmetic surgery.
![[Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, around 1940, Jocelyn Perisset (pictured here) was the daughter of a department store buyer and a housewife.]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/01/22/93657785-14242473-image-a-5_1735770848524.jpg)
'If I show you pictures of my grandmother, what you see is these eyes – cat eyes – and high cheekbones,' the Swiss-born beauty told New York Magazine in 1997. At the time, Jocelyn was ending her marriage to French art dealer Alec Wildenstein, the descendant of a family worth billions and believed to be in possession of the world's largest private collection of masterpieces, vaults of paintings and a rumored, long hidden and priceless work by Johannes Vermeer.
![[Christened by the newspapers as the 'Bride of Wildenstein', Jocelyn, then 52, served champagne to a New York Magazine profile writer and batted down speculation that her increasingly bizarre cat-like appearance had nothing to do with cosmetic surgery .]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/02/13/93657723-14242473-image-a-2_1735825946658.jpg)
The couple's property portfolio included a ranch in Kenya with a 366-strong staff, a castle in France and the 25,000-square-foot brownstone on East 64th Street, where Jocelyn had been relegated to certain rooms during certain hours amid the very messy public end to her tumultuous 21-year marriage.
![[Alec and Jocelyn eloped in Las Vegas on April 30, 1978, and would have two children together – but, of course, the romance wouldn't last. (Jocelyn is pictured here with her daughter Diane).]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/01/22/93657777-14242473-image-a-6_1735770850953.jpg)
Indeed, fissures had shown early in their romance. Nearly 30 years ago, as billionaire Jocelyn Wildenstein's fabulously juicy divorce captivated the global aristocracy and the common reader, the feline-featured socialite (pictured here in 1998) held court in a corner of the Manhattan townhouse that she was still permitted to use.
![[In 2003, Jocelyn found love again with a fashion designer more than two decades her junior, Lloyd Klein (pictured with Jocelyn in 2006).]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/02/13/93657731-14242473-image-a-6_1735825946740.jpg)
