Jocelyn Wildenstein, nicknamed ‘Catwoman’ because of the extensive changes she’s made to her face, shared a stunning throwback photo over the weekend, offering a rare glimpse of her natural beauty before her dramatic transformation.
The 82-year-old Swiss socialite took to Instagram to post a heartfelt birthday tribute to her daughter Diane.
In the photo, the blonde beauty is seen holding her toddler in her lap.
Jocelyn Wildenstein before plastic surgery
Her face appears different from the distinct features and extensive plastic surgeries that have kept her in the spotlight and earned her the iconic catwoman nickname.
Her obsession with surgery began back when she was married to her former husband, Alec Wildenstein.
Fearing he was going to leave her, she reportedly decided to go under the knife in a bid to win back the self-confessed cat lover’s heart.
She kept a lynx as a pet during the marriage, and she told Vanity Fair that she thought it had “perfect eyes”.
While her cosmetic changes worked at first and reignited their romance, the couple later split in 1997.
Following their breakup, Alec spoke out about his ex-wife’s surgery, saying: “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,” he added.
Jocelyn’s social media post comes after she claimed she was broke after being cut off from her $100million divorce settlement.
She gave a rare interview last summer in which she claimed she was flat broke and had not had any income for eight years after her ex-husband’s family cut her off from the nine-figure annual payment she famously secured in her 1999 divorce.
The reclusive socialite won a $2.5billion in the settlement, with $100million allocated for each year thereafter in the split, after she claimed billionaire businessman husband Alec N. Wildenstein had been unfaithful.
In a June 2023 interview with The Sunday Times, she claimed Alec, who died in 2008, had tried to blame their failed marriage on her by saying he no longer recognized his wife due to her extensive plastic surgeries.
