Byline: by Richard Price

AT FIRST glance, she looks like a typical Louis Vuitton Fake little girl out shopping with her mother, from the vivid pink ballet shoes to the pretty bow detail on her stripy top. Pause for a moment and look closely at the image, however, and a slow realisation dawns. First, she is a strikingly pretty toddler, as you would expect given that her father is the Hollywood idol Tom Cruise and her mother the equally desired Katie Holmes. Second, and rather more disturbingly, she is wearing lipstick.

Of course, all little girls are fascinated by make-up, so perhaps this was a one-off treat for a child desperate to imitate her glamorous mother. Yet Suri has been routinely wearing nail polish for well over a year now. Fast forward to another recent shopping trip and the lipstick has gone. Instead, Suri completes her look with a pair of sparkling silver kitten heels.

Her mother, in contrast, dresses down in flat shoes and dowdy cardigans. Given that at the age of 30 she already suffers from painful bunions, one might expect Katie to be cautious about her daughter's choice of footwear.

Yesterday, Suri was shopping for ice cream at a market in Boston, this time in a pink cashmere cardigan and ruffled purple skirt.

When it comes to this young lady, there is only one person calling the shots, and that is the girl recently named 'Hollywood's Hottest Tot' by Forbes magazine. Extraordinarily, a news report recently claimed that her designer wardrobe is worth a staggering [pounds sterling]2 million.

Having been born to such famous parents, she never had a chance of leading a normal life, particularly given her father's controversial dedication to the pseudoreligion of Scientology.

But even by celebrity standards, Suri's parents are bringing her up in a manner which bucks convention to a startling degree. This is at least partly due to the bizarre manner in which Scientology treats children; and given the prominent role the cult plays in her life -- Cruise is the second most senior Scientologist -- its impact cannot be underestimated.

This is a girl whose sole wish for her second birthday party was to 'wear a butterfly dress' -- a childlike request which culminated in her ludicrously indulgent parents spending [pounds sterling]60,000 on the event. The birthday cake had four tiers and the centrepiece of the occasion was the release of hundreds of live butterflies -- and all this for the grand total of 24 guests.

Having been born into a world where money is no issue, the usual boundaries which limit a toddler's life do not apply. So while most children her age have a cluttered bedroom to play in, Suri has an entire wing of her parents' Los Angeles mansion to herself, which she decorated with the help of an interior designer.

Her suite of rooms is fitted with a state-of-the-art music system and home cinema, while she has a personal chef on call at all times.

SURI has no official bedtime. On one recent Friday night, she stayed out for dinner with her parents until 1am, while earlier in the week her mother took her to a Beyonce concert (though as soon as the music began, Suri covered her ears and buried her head to escape the bright lights).

'The Cruises are not what you would call a typical family,' says a source who has Cheap Sandals worked with Tom on his current film project, Wichita, which has seen the entire clan temporarily move to Boston.