THE TELL-TALE SIGNS; EXCLUSIVE: Signatures that give away stars'

HE'S tight with his money, obsessed with his looks and fiercely ambitious.

This, says FBI handwriting expert Andrea McNichol, is Tom Cruise off to a T.

"Personalities are reflected in handwriting. When you write your signature you are unintentionally revealing what you feel about yourself," Andrea says.

"Tom Cruise's signature shows someone who is obsessed with his own body. The 'T' is written in a way that it is an enormous phallic symbol.

"And the way it resembles an arrow pointing upwards shows he's very ambitious and has a lot of self-love. He's obsessed with material gain - and careful with his money - while pride and vanity are very prominent."

Andrea's talents for recognising traits in human behaviour have been used by the FBI for more than 20 years and she has taught graphology at six universities. Among the most well-known cases she has worked on is that of serial killer Ted Bundy.

Although she usually works with longer passages of writing, the mother-of-two agreed to analyse the autographs of the stars for the Sunday Mirror.

She said: "There are many factors to take into account when examining a signature.

"You can tell if it has been rushed and celebrities often have to sign thousands in one sitting.

"But there are always vital clues to be found - even the most basic lettering can give a detailed insight."

For instance Britney Spears is obsessed with her body, says Andrea.

"The exaggerated loop on the 'y' coupled with an autograph signed over her breast shows this person is absolutely obsessed with her boobs.

"She is almost screaming for you to look at them - she thinks bigger is better.

Britney's rival Christina Aguilera on the other hand is less revealing. "She's trying to hide her personality," says Andrea. "She wants people to see her projected image.

"There's a clue showing she's musical but there's some anger in there too."

Sean Connery is another attention-seeker.

Of an autograph taken from his James Bond days Andrea says: "The huge capital letters mean he wanted to be famous from an early age. He's a bit of a manipulator.

"The final 'y' pulls away - which means he may have been unhappy in a relationship."

On the left are a selection of Andrea's opinions on signatures we put to the test.

WHAT'S IN A NAME

JENNIFER LOPEZ

Her surname is illegible. She may not be proud of her roots or may want to marry. She's also extremely ambitious.

TOM CRUISE

He's obsessed with material gain while pride and vanity are very prominent. The letter T is an 'enormous phallic symbol'.

ROD STEWART

"He's a complete extrovert, but emotionally he"s cold, impatient and the tall letters show he's vain.

BRITNEY SPEARS

She's mature, bright and hard-working - but rather obsessed with her boobs and their size

HARRISON FORD

The letters looping under the line show he is preoccupied with the physical, material and sexual aspects of life.

CALISTA FLOCKHART

She' is bright, analytical, intense and proud and has good aesthetic values.

CHRISTINA AGUILERA

The swirls show she is screaming to be looked at, but trying to hide her real self. The heart shows she"s thinking about love right now.

SEAN CONNERY

He is in control at all times and I can see a calculated kindness in his writing.

SHARON STONE

She is clearly intelligent, plus completely fearless and tenacious. You would not want to tangle with her.

JULIA ROBERTS

This shows she's bright, intellectual and well-read, but also uptight and egotistical.

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