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8 Shocking celebrity shopaholics

Think you can shop? Wait till you read about the compulsive spends of our friends in Tinsel Town. Compulsive Shopping Disorder - the medical name for the obsession - is estimated to affect between two and eight per cent of the population. There's even a new drug called citalopram, which has been prescribed to curb uncontrollable shopping urges. Here, some of the highest paid women in Hollywood reveal why they could do with a strong dose!

Britney Spears
Shopaholic rating 8/10
The Princess of Pop has an estimated £100 million in the bank and she shops when she's depressed. 'I can be in the dump of dumpsters and go buy a pair of new shoes, and then it's okay,' she says. 'Even if it's just for the time being, for that moment it's what I need.' Like all girls, Ms Spears has her favourite labels 'I like Bebe, Armani Exchange, and Rampage is really cool and cheap' and she is also known to shop at The Gap. Psychotherapist Cindy Grant says 'Britney may be going out on exorbitant buying binges as a quick fix to cure her emotional pain.' In May 2002 when her parents, Jamie and Lynne, separated after 30 years of marriage, Britney went shopping to ease her pain. She bought a $20,000 bed from Domaine - and a $4.5 million estate for her mother in Kentwood, LA.

Victoria Beckham
Shopaholic rating 9/10
Victoria Beckham is in a league of her own when it comes to burning the plastic. The fashion-obsessed former Spice Girl is believed to spend £100,000 a year on her wardrobe, and has turned shopping into her main occupation. 'I can't help it,' she says. 'When I see something I like, I buy it in every colour and I buy shoes in every colour to match, as well as handbags. If I could, I'd go shopping every single day. I'm definitely a shopaholic.' After splashing out £8.5 million in her first year of married life, Posh announced she was giving up designer labels - but it wasn't long before she crept back into Harvey Nicks. One marathon binge involved Victoria spending five hours raiding some of the most expensive stores in Los Angeles. She spent an hour in traffic before emerging with her first purchases. Then she crammed two more shopping bags with dresses, tops and trousers at hip store Rampage, before moving on to Foot Locker for some upmarket trainers. Next she bought a $150 bikini at Canyon Beachware before hitting Diesel and DKNY. The entire haul - which will join her £2,500 Gucci catsuit, her £1,600 Gucci jacket and her horde of shoes which have never even left the box in her bulging closets - was estimated to have cost at least £5,000. 'Spending like this is time-consuming,' says Professor George Gaskill, an expert on consumer behaviour. 'That's when you hit the realms of official shopaholic, which is an illness.'

Cameron Diaz
Shopaholic rating 6/10
It's VIP treatment all the way when Cameron hits the town. Whether it's celebrating her birthday at Nobu or partying all night with her friend Drew Barrymore at Suede, Cameron does it in style. The star enjoys spending her time jet-setting with toyboy pin-up Justin Timberlake. From a $20,000 - a - week stay in an oceanfront condo on Waikiki beach to a $4,800 - a - night stay in the Loews hotel in Miami, the pair always rest their heads in luxury. When it comes to fashion, Cameron has a thing about sweaters. 'Frequent shopping sprees is the way to keep stocked,' she says. 'A woman can never have enough.' Cam's new year's resolutions included curbing her shopping habit. 'I'll stop smoking, I'll stop shopping and I'll wear a bra,' she resolved.

Jennifer Lopez
Shopaholic rating 7/10
Strutting around in Gucci and Versace is second nature to J-Lo. On a recent shopping spree at Madison in Beverly Hills, she snapped up Andrew Pfister beaded mules with crystal buckles, Miu Miu sneakers and Prada mules. 'I'm a little bit of a shopaholic,' admits the diva. 'I don't have to call the hotline or anything, but I definitely enjoy it. My biggest extravagance is probably shoes and clothes. I'm over the top with it but I love shopping for clothes, (and) trying on different outfits.' Jennifer says her curvaceous body is one of the things that encourages her to shop. 'I think it's fun to wear great clothes period, and obviously if you're a woman and you have a few curves it's a great feeling to put on a dress that makes you feel very attractive,' she says. 'That's the whole point of clothes to me. You wear things that express who you are and make you feel good about yourself as much as make people stand up and take notice of who you are.' Lopez also loves the way certain clothes help her to seduce men. 'I love clothes that make me feel very feminine and drive men crazy, especially sexy underwear,' she says, 'it's a game that women play.'

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