Nicole Wertheim was being celebrated for her philanthropy when she passed away on April 20.Courtesy Erica Wertheim ZoharNicole Wertheim, a philanthropist who supported education, advocated for women and served as a key early partner in her former husband’s optical lens firm, died suddenly on Monday, April 20 at age 82, according to her daughter Erica Wertheim Zohar.Her death took place the same night that she was being honored in Miami for her philanthropy. The charity-focused online magazine SocialMiami had named Wertheim as one of its philanthropists of the year. The group gave her the award in part because of a $10 million gift she and her then-husband made more than a decade ago to Florida International University to create the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences.The then-couple also announced a $10 million donation in 2019 to create Florida International University’s School of Music & Performing Arts—the largest gift to a school of music at a public university. Zohar accepted the award Monday night on behalf of her mother, who had been living full time on a residential cruise ship called The World, which was sailing toward Polynesia. On the way home from the awards event, Zohar called her mom, but she didn’t answer. Zohar then alerted the staff of The World, who found that Wertheim had died in her shipboard residence. The cause of her death is not yet known.“Family was the most important thing for her,” said Zohar, who described her mother as a modest, elegant person. Wertheim, who got divorced in 2024, was planning to donate much of her fortune to philanthropy, to support women and also narcissistic abuse, a cause that Wertheim believed needs wider awareness, Zohar said. Nicole Wertheim and her ex-husband Herbert together gave or pledged nearly $280 million mostly to educational causes at universities, Zohar said. That included $50 million for the School of Optometry at UC Berkeley, $100 million to the University of Florida for the UF Scripps Institute of Biomedical Innovation & Technology, and $25 million to UC San Diego for the School of Public Health, as well as the gifts to Florida International University.Nicole Wertheim (second from right) with her daughter Erica Wertheim Zohar (left) in Tanzania.Courtesy Erica Wertheim ZoharWertheim was born in France and came to the U.S. in the 1960s to work as a model. She married Herbert Wertheim, an optometrist with a colorful past, in 1969. According to Zohar, her mom helped her father launch Brain Power Inc., known as BPI, an optical lens company, serving early on as the secretary and helping her husband set up displays at trade shows. The company sold optical tints and dyes that Herbert created, as well as other technology for eyewear. Herbert, widely known as Dr. Herbie, took the profits from the company and invested them in the stock market, eventually amassing a multi-billion fortune from his investing.“Herbie and I had nothing when we started, and together over 55 years we built a family, a business, and a charitable family foundation that has accomplished many wonderful things,” Nicole told Forbes in a statement via her lawyer last year.Nicole filed for divorce from Herbie in 2023 after a public display of infidelity. The divorce proceedings were prolonged and tumultuous and included a trial over the division of their assets. In addition, Nicole sued Herbie and their charitable foundation, alleging that Herbie had forged her signature and misappropriated funds in the couple’s foundation, a lawsuit that Forbes wrote about in early 2025. The suit was dismissed as part of the divorce settlement’s division of assets agreement later in 2025.Nicole is survived by two daughters and four grandchildren. A memorial page was created by her family.