KYLIE MINOGUE: Could she be the next Mrs Cruise?

As Kylie Minogue sets out to conquer Hollywood, she has gained a new fan - none other than Tom Cruise. Sources in Los Angeles say Tom was bewitched by the Aussie singer when the pair met at a dinner party hosted by actor Will Smith. And sexy Kylie made such an impression on the Mission: Impossible star he sent flowers to her hotel room the next day. Our source says Kylie and Tom sat side by side at the dinner last month, and immediately hit it off. Kylie got the 'royal treatment' from Tom, revealed an onlooker. 'He was so into her. He complimented her on her music and told her how beautiful she looked and gave her attention all night.' When Kylie said she was auditioning for a role in the movie version of the 1970s comedy series Nanny And The Professor the next day, Tom was happy to give advice, along with flowers the next morning to wish her luck. Tom, who was married to Aussie actress Nicole Kidman for 10 years, has been single since splitting with Penelope Cruz earlier this year, but has admitted he is looking for love. And unlucky-in-love Kylie has had a bumpy few weeks with French boyfriend Olivier Martinez. The pop princess was rumoured to be furious after her beau was snapped looking more than a little cosy with S.W.A.T co-star Michelle Rodriguez on P Diddy's St Tropez yacht in August. After the 'incident' Kylie went to Olivier's posh Paris pad to confront him, but their talk was far from amicable, with Kylie leaving the flat in a rage. But it seems Kylie got her own back during her LA visit. Not only did she catch Tom's eye, she had a dinner date with Cameron Diaz's ex, Jared Leto, says a source. And she still found time to party with her pal Elton John and his boyfriend David Furnish, who flew her to Las Vegas to see Elton perform at the famous Caesars Palace. 'Kylie has become quite the toast of Hollywood. Elton has promised to take her to all the best parties, and she's hanging out with the A-List,' says our insider. 'In Hollywood, they don't come more powerful than Tom Cruise, and Kylie has managed to impress him without even trying.' Ironically, one of Kylie's rivals for the role in Nanny And The Professor is Sophie Dahl - who had an affair with James Gooding while he was still seeing Kylie. Kylie has been dreaming of such a plum part. To date, the only noteworthy role she's had was in Moulin Rouge, as The Green Fairy. 'I have had a growing desire in the past few years to get back into acting,' she says. 'I've got to do something in film I can really be proud of.'

And according to our source, she's trying very hard. 'The competition between her and Sophie might normally have rattled her, but she sauntered through the audition fearlessly. She's a very good actress, and she's already got the recognition as a music superstar. But even with both feet in the door, she's got to work even harder than she already has to make it happen.' Luckily the pint-sized star has the self-belief needed to achieve her goal. 'I am quietly confident about a lot of things and there's not much I say out loud unless I am really sure of it,' she says. 'I just believe somewhere, at some point in the future, it will happen.' With Hollywood hot shot Tom - who commands pounds 11 million a movie - behind her she shouldn't have too much trouble. And if things don't work out with Kylie and Olivier, maybe Tom will finally have found a girl shorter than Penelope Cruz to be his latest real-life leading lady...

Coincidences that led Kylie to Tom

While ex-boyfriend JAMES GOODING was seeing Kylie, he admitted to an affair with...

...SOPHIE DAHL, who is up against Kylie for a role in Nanny And The Professor.

OLIVIER MARTINEZ, Kylie's current boyfriend, was recently seen flirting with...

MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ,which made angry Kylie set off to LA to audition for Nanny And The Professor...

...but she had time to get her revenge on Olivier by dining with Cameron Diaz's ex JARED LETO...

...and partying with ELTON JOHN and his partner David Furnish...

...before being invited to dinner by WILL SMITH and his wife Jada Pinkett...

...where she was schmoozed by TOM CRUISE.

Weird, huh?

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