In this gripping, real-life fairy tale, a young German princess rises from relative obscurity to the Russian throne as one of the most remarkable monarchs in history--CATHERINE THE GREAT. A strange twist of fate in 1744 brings 15-year-old, foreign-born princess Sophia Fredericka (Catherine Zeta Jones) to the court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia (Jeanne Moreau) where she becomes Catherine II, the wife of the Empress’ nephew Peter (Hannes Jaenicke). Through steely courage, audacious shrewdness and unbridled treachery, Catherine triumphs over her despicable husband in their all-or-nothing struggle for the throne, to become Empress and Czarina of Russia. Against the rich tapestry of 18th-century Russia, Omar Sharif (Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia) and Mael Ferrer (Peter the Great, Falcon Crest) also star in this sweeping tale of a fascinating, commplex leader beloved by the Russian people who anointed her CATHERINE THE GREAT.