A California art-world satirist known online as Jerry Gogosian was found dead in her luxury São Paulo hotel room after jetting to Brazil for cosmetic surgery — with an empty vodka bottle, broken glass, and mystery pills scattered nearby.
Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, 40, was discovered Sunday afternoon by her plastic surgeon at the upscale Rosewood São Paulo after she stopped answering her phone, according to Brazilian media and police reports.
The surgeon, who had taken her to the hospital weeks earlier for a possible overdose during her three-week recovery, told authorities he found her unresponsive in the five-star pad. Cops have labeled the death suspicious and ordered tests. No official cause has been released.
Helphenstein, an Oakland native and San Francisco Art Institute grad, built a huge following, nearly 150,000 on Instagram, with her razor-sharp Jerry Gogosian persona, a hilarious send-up of the snooty art scene’s excesses, elitism, and influencer culture. She hosted the “Art Smack” podcast, edited The Jerry Report, and even curated shows for big names like Sotheby’s.
Her final posts, blasted out just hours before she was found, showed her in high spirits, dishing out her signature “rich woman” lifestyle advice in a cheeky video.
“Sometimes, you just need to let the rich woman inside of you fly!” she quipped in the clip, rocking a chic look while urging followers to hire artists, get glamorous, drape on a cashmere shawl, and “make up things that you’re worried about” while taking deep breaths.
The Rosewood São Paulo confirmed the death to local outlets and said it’s fully cooperating with investigators, but declined further comment out of respect for her family and privacy.
