Since the premier of the new film ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’, there has been unprecedented attention paid to shopping addictions. A love of clothes and fashion does not a shopaholic make, but rather it is a psychological addiction which often covers underlying emotional issues.

Shopaholics comfort shop. Some shop daily while others succumb to binge shopping when times are tough. They enjoy the high of buying something new but, like most addictions, the feeling soon wears off and they need to get their fix again.

Some high profile celebrities are notorious for their shopping habits, but few view it as a serious problem – after all if you’ve got it spend it. However, if they were earning an average wage would they really be so quick to dismiss the issue as nothing serious?

1. Victoria Beckham

Shops practically roll out the red carpet when they see Victoria Beckham coming. A self confessed shopaholic, she allegedly spent $16 million in her first year of marriage. Her one true weakness is designer labels and is said to spend up to $150,000 per year on her wardrobe. Like any addict, Mrs. Beckham just doesn’t know when to stop shopping. If she sees something she likes she will buy it, along with the matching shoes and handbags in every available colour. Victoria definitely fits the bill as a compulsive shopper – she is even reported to have spent close to $9,500 in one five hour shopping spree alone.

2. Britney Spears

Unlike Victoria Beckham, Britney Spears tends to binge shop. It seems that whenever she is depressed, which does seem to happen quite a lot these days, she will go out and shop. Claiming it makes her feel better, she does tend to go for her favorite labels including Bebe, Armani Exchange, Rampage and even The Gap. When Britney is feeling really low, she nurses her pain through extravagant spending. For instance when her parents marriage fell apart, Britney bought a $20,000 bed from Domaine and a $4.5 million estate for her mother.

3. Madonna

Everyone has their vices and Madonna is no exception. This world class diva has not only snapped up properties across the globe and invested in magnificent art collections, but she has also been known to spend frivolously. Aside from her well known wedding extravaganza – where she paid for all her guests to stay at an exclusive hotel in Scotland with rooms costing up to £1,000 per room, per night – she is also rumored to have spent $60,000 in a single session buying designer clothes from their special ‘look through’ catalogues which were sent to her.

4. Uma Thurman

This level-headed actress is also known to indulge in retail therapy. Confessing to be a shopaholic, Uma says: “I shop all the time and I buy more or less anything!” Many women can relate to why she loves shopping so much – it helps her to forget the pressures of her life. As a creative person, Uma says that clothes enable her to express the way she feels and her style changes according to her mood.

5. Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes is inclined to do a bit of comfort shopping from time to time. It is reported that she recently spent over $10 million in a little over six months. After spending two years as a stay at home mother, she finally returned to work and now looks set to spend her hard earned cash. So what could you possible buy for so much money in such a small amount of time? Well apparently she bought new gym gear and clothing for her daughter Suri, as well as three luxury apartments.

6. Sarah Jessica Parker

Like her character in Sex in the City, Sarah Jessica Parker is addicted to shoes – more specifically Manolo Blahniks. Estimated to have around 100 pairs of shoes, costing anywhere between $300 and $1,000 a pair, she insists that she wears them all the time. Although she is considered to be frugal when it comes to spending money, the star simply cannot resist the temptation to buy more shoes. Sarah claims her shoe obsession dates back to her childhood when her mother would only buy her just two pairs of shoes a year.

7. Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton loves fashion. With overflowing wardrobes this shopaholic simply cannot resist the temptation of a spending spree. Last year the hotel heiress caused tempers to flare when she went on a shopping binge shortly after arriving in Melbourne, Australia. Apparently her $140-a-minute splurge outraged charity chiefs citing that it was obscene to spend so much money when people are homeless and thousands are losing their jobs every week.

8. Lindsay Lohan

Shopaholic Lindsay Lohan just doesn’t seem to know when to stop. It is rumored that she managed to spend more than $1 million on clothes and accessories in one year, including an $8,000 Prada dress and a $2,000 Balenciaga handbag. It is also reported that she spend $20,000 in 20 minutes. Although she denies spending so excessively, she does confess to loving clothes.

9. Jennifer Lopez

A self-proclaimed shopaholic, Jennifer Lopez admits going over the top when it comes to buying shoes and clothes. She loves trying on and buying new outfits, and says: “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 attractive.”

10. P. Diddy

Of course men can also fall foul to a shopping addition. P. Diddy is well known for his lavish parties and profligate spending sprees. As if spending $1,165,000 on a party in London isn’t enough, he also likes to indulge in luxury vacations and has been rumored to have also spent $4 million on a party in Beverly Hills to celebrate getting his name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

It is almost acceptable for these superrich celebrities to spend such vast amounts of money on life’s little indulgences, but unfortunately regular people, with regular incomes, can also succumb to a shopping addition and it often has devastating effects on their lives.

11. Rosie Millard

Columnist and one time broadcast correspondent Rosie Millard confessed to having accumulated around $65,000 in debt whilst living the high life on a middle income salary. She just couldn’t stop spending money. First there was the $5,800 trip on the Concorde to New Year, then there was the $500 pair of Jimmy Choo shoes and it didn’t stop there. She loved eating out at least three times a week, buying clothes and pampering herself. Realising the spending was out of control, Rosie has fortunately managed to curb her spending and is slowly pulling herself out of debt.

12. Alexis Hall

With credit card debt of around $46,500, Alexis Hall still couldn’t resist hitting the shops every day – a habit of nearly 20 years. She enjoyed the high from buying something new but soon realized that she had to change her ways as her bank loans grew and moved from one balance transfer to another. Going cold turkey was the only option for her, but it will still take some time to recover from her debt and get her life back on track.

13. Jean Cunnane

A very sad example of an extreme shopaholic, Jean Cunnane’s body was found by police under a 3ft pile of cases after she had apparently gone in search of her favorite item. The pensioner was known to spend most of her evenings at branches of Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Ikea rather than be alone at home. Talking of her home: it was overflowing with her purchases including brand new umbrellas, ornaments, clothes, videotapes and electrical items, many of them unopened.