The Golden Compass helped Nicole Kidman take first place in Forbes' list

As one of the Hollywood elite, Nicole Kidman has garnered many an award in her career.

But she will be less pleased by her latest accolade: that of being Tinseltown's most overpaid actress.

The 41-year-old Australian has risen to the top of the list after a string of recent box-office flops.

According to Forbes magazine, the Far And Away star's films earn just £1 in profit for every £1 that she was paid.

In 2007 she was rated third on the list, but with her last three films all making less of an impact at the box office than expected, she has leap-frogged to number one.

The flops included The Invasion, which also starred James Bond star Daniel Craig, but actually lost £2.68 for every pound Miss Kidman was paid.

Another was Margot At The Wedding, for which she was paid an estimated £17million.

Her most heavily publicised film, fantasy adventure The Golden Compass, was reportedly made on a budget of £115million but only grossed £15million during its first week of release.

Forbes' researchers examined box-office returns for each of the stars' last three films that opened before January 1, 2008.

Tom Cruise in a scene from Lions for Lambs: The failure of the film is blamed for his place at number three

Good value? Cameron Diaz is fourth on the list of overpaid stars, while Jennifer Garner takes second place

They looked at each film's worldwide box-office take and added the first three months of DVD sales before subtracting the budget to come up with the gross income.

Forbes said: 'Despite winning an Oscar for her performance in 2002's The Hours, Kidman has become the most overpaid celebrity in Hollywood.'

The success of American Gangster improved Russell Crowe's rating

Juno actress Jennifer Garner was in second place, with her films making a lowly £3.60 profit for every pound she was paid.

Miss Kidman's former husband Tom Cruise is also high on the overpaid list.

While the Top Gun star commands £11million a picture and heads up his own studio, his most recent films returned only a £4 profit for every pound he took home.

His flop Lions For Lambs, which also starred Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, is blamed for his joint third placing with Cameron Diaz, 36.

But there was better news for tough guy actor Russell Crowe, who was the most improved star on the list, due in part to the success of American Gangster.

His last three films returned a healthy £6.88 profit for each pound he was paid, compared with £5 for 2007.

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