Schratt's appearances and performances in the early 1880s at Hofburgtheater captivated Franz Joseph, and she was invited to perform for visiting Czar Alexander III of Russia. She soon became Franz Joseph's companion. It is said that Franz Joseph's wife Empress Elisabeth actually promoted the relationship between the actress and the Emperor. After Elisabeth's murder in 1898, their relationship continued, with one interruption (1900/01, due to a difference in opinions), until his death in November 1916. She was rewarded with a generous lifestyle including a mansion on Vienna's Gloriettegasse, near the Schönbrunn Palace, and a three-story palace on the Kärntner Ring, just across from the Vienna State Opera. In addition, her gambling debts were paid by him. Schratt's relationship with the Emperor lasted for 34 years.