Swiss socialite Jocelyne Wildenstein, famed for her extensive plastic ...

Swiss socialite Jocelyne Wildenstein, known for her extensive plastic surgery, has diedaccording to her partner. 

Her partner and fashion designer Lloyd Klein broke the news to AFP on Tuesday, saying "an icon has left us".

Mr Klein told the agency she had died aged 79, while other outlets reported she was 84 at the time of her death. 

She died of a pulmonary embolism in a luxury hotel in Paris on New Year's Eve, Mr Klein said.

"Early reports from the doctors called to the scene indicate that she had endured heart failure and passed peacefully in her sleep," Mr Klein added.

Born in Switzerland, Jocelyne Perisset became a New York socialite after marrying art dealer Alec Wildenstein, with whom she had two children.

She kept his name after their messy divorce in the late 90s.

The cosmetic surgery aficionado, with more than a million followers on Instagram, became known as "Catwoman" in the tabloids for the feline-like shape of her eyes.

She had been living between New York and Miami, she told French media in recent months.

She last posted a video of herself and Mr Klein posing for photographers outside the Ritz Paris on December 23, to the soundtrack of Wham's Last Christmas.

She did admit she might have wanted her lips to be a little thicker but said she did not embark on cosmetic surgery to try to keep her ex-husband.

She received $US2.5 billion from their divorce, making it one of the most expensive at the time, according to Mr Klein.

Asked if she had found love again, she said she had with Mr Klein, who was 21 years her junior.

Mr Klein and Wildenstein "met during New York Fashion Week in 2001 when he was presenting his fashion collection on the runway," he said in his written statement.

"She was a front-row guest and after that show the two became romantically involved and had remained inseparable since that time.

"Jocelyne was my best friend, my partner, my fiance," he said.

AFP