Who the hell is Sisi?

Wondering around Vienna for the past 19 days, I have discovered in the many souvenir shops Sisi related items. There is everything from cups, bags, shirts, to fridge magnets; all with Sisi's image on them. This obsession with this woman made me wonder who she was. What has made a wife of an emperor so famous? Usually we only hear about the emperors themselves and not really their wives.
Visiting the Sisi museum today, helped me answer all my questions regarding the empress. This woman otherwise known as Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie or Sisi had a complicated life.
Visiting the Sisi Museum I was finally able to learn a little about empress Elisabeth. This museum explored who Sisi was and why she was so famous.
Sisi was married to Emperor Franz Joseph. Originally he was meant to marry Elisabeth's sister, but when he saw Sisi he fell in love. Thus, their marriage was arranged. The emperor loved his wife, but she saw marriage as an evil institution that one was forced into and could not get out of. Sisi also had trouble with adjusting to court life.Only after her illness and removal from court life, did Sisi realize that she was a strong woman. She returned to court as a new woman. Now, she took excellent care of herself. To have a perfect figure she ate little, and not with her family, and exercised. (She had exercise equipment in her office). According to Dr.O Sisi had an 18inch waistline.
Sisi was also an avid poet and traveler. She used both of these outlets as a way of getting away from court life and her marriage. (She was unhappy, even though the emperor loved her). Sisi's depression got much worse after the deaths of two of her three children.
During one of her travels to Geneva in 1898 she was assassinated by an Italian anarchist. Her tragic death was what made Sisi so famous. The public did not love her during her lifetime. Sisi's death made her a symbol.
This obsession with Elisabeth seems, to me, to come mostly from the female part of the population. Maybe because Sisi stood up for herself and what she believed in. However, I do not think that today's women should be so impressed by her, because they are already fully independent. I do not view Sisi as anyone special. On the contrary, I see her as spoiled, narcissistic, and ignorant of other people's emotions. For example, her husband who she avoided even though he never harmed her. She also ignored her duties in court, and as a princess that is her job.

German word: auf dem Grill
English: on the grill
Sentence: Ich mag Huhn auf dem Grill.