Elisabeth, nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898.
Princess Sophie of Bavaria was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife, Caroline of Baden. The identical twin sister of Queen Maria Anna of Saxony, Sophie became Archduchess of Austria by marriage to Archduke Franz Karl of Austria. Her eldest son, Franz Joseph, reigned as Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary; her second son, Maximilian, briefly reigned as Emperor of Mexico.
Clackers are toys that were popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Michael Haneke is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, German, and English and has worked in television and theatre. He also teaches film direction at the Film Academy Vienna.
Christoph Waltz is an Austrian and German actor. Primarily active in the United States, he gained international recognition for his portrayal of villainous and supporting roles in English-language films. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Sandra Hüller is a German actress. She has appeared in German, Austrian, American, British, and French films. She has received various accolades, including two European Film Awards, a César Award and three German Film Awards, along with nominations for an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and a Golden Globe Award.
Christian Kracht is a Swiss author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages.
Countess Irma Sztáray de Sztára et Nagymihály was a Hungarian courtier and memoirist. She was the last lady-in-waiting of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and the sole companion traveling with the empress when she was assassinated.
Abd el-Fattah el-Sisi is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has been serving as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian military in 2014, Sisi served as Egypt's deputy prime minister from 2013 to 2014, minister of defense from 2012 to 2013, and director of military intelligence from 2010 to 2012. He was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal in January 2014.
Frauke Finsterwalder is a German film director and screenwriter. Finsterwalder has directed several shorts and documentaries. Her feature film directorial debut, Finsterworld, was released in 2013. For her second feature film, Sisi & I, released in 2023, she was awarded the Bavarian Film Award for Best Director.
Sisi is a 2009 Austrian-Italian-German biographical drama television miniseries directed by Xaver Schwarzenberger and starring Cristiana Capotondi in the title role. It was produced by Sunset, Publispei, RAI and EosTV, with a budget of about 11 million euros. It depicts real life events of Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
Susanne Wolff is a German actress. Her credits include the television series Morgen hör ich auf and the films Styx and The Stranger in Me.
Corsage is a 2022 historical drama film written and directed by Marie Kreutzer. It stars Vicky Krieps, Florian Teichtmeister, Katharina Lorenz, Jeanne Werner, Alma Hasun, Manuel Rubey, Finnegan Oldfield, Aaron Friesz, Rosa Hajjaj, Lilly Marie Tschörtner, and Colin Morgan. The film is an international co-production between Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, and France.
Sisi & I is a 2023 historical black comedy film directed by Frauke Finsterwalder, who co-wrote the screenplay with Christian Kracht. It stars Susanne Wolff as Empress Elisabeth of Austria and Sandra Hüller as Countess Irma Sztáray. It tells a fictionalized story of Empress Elisabeth of Austria from the point of view of her lady-in-waiting, Irma Sztáray. The film is an international co-production between Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Sisi & I made its world premiere in the Panorama section of the 2023 Berlin Film Festival on 19 February 2023. It was released theatrically in Austria by Panda Film, and in Germany and Switzerland by DCM on 30 March 2023.
The Empress is a German historical drama television series based on the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, starring Devrim Lingnau in the title role, and Philip Froissant as Emperor Franz Joseph. It was released on Netflix on 29 September 2022. It was Netflix's second-most watched series worldwide for two weeks and the seventh most popular non-English series of 2022, with over 150 million hours streamed. On 8 November 2022, Netflix renewed it for a second season. Netflix also commissioned a companion novel, The Empress: A Novel, by Gigi Griffis, which was published two days before the series premiered on the streaming service. The second season is set to premiere on November 22, 2024.
Dominique Devenport is a Swiss-American actress who is best known as Empress Elisabeth of Austria in Sisi.
