LORELAI: I’d rather get my face surgically altered to look like that lunatic rich lady with the lion head than go to the club with you.
Lorelai is referring to Swiss-American billionaire socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein (born 1940). She is infamous for the extensive cosmetic surgery she has had on her face, giving her a very unnatural appearance.
The surgery first began in the 1970s, but Jocelyn’s appearance became cause for comment in the late 1990s, after the Wildensteins had a very public divorce, which involved a gun. Reporters were apparently banned from attending court proceedings in the belief that Jocelyn’s appearance would frighten them.
According to her ex-husband Alec Wildestein, the surgery was intended to give her a cat-like appearance, and was done to please him, as he loved big cats. Jocelyn has a pet lynx, but also claims that the surgery was done to enhance naturally cat-like features that run in her family. She is reportedly very happy with her appearance and feels beautiful. Jocelyn is rumored to have spent over $4 million on surgery.
(Jocelyn Wildenstein’s appearance has become far more extreme and unnatural since this photo was taken in 1999, but this is the lion-head lady that Lorelai was thinking of).
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 