Early Kidman was on Cruise control

Nicole Kidman says she made it a point to be a silent partner during her doomed marriage to Tom Cruise.

“I felt I became a star only by association,” the Australian actress and Oscar winner told Glamour magazine. “I didn’t think (my early movies) were very good, which is why I would always cower in the background.”

Kidman and Cruise, who met on the set of Tony Scott’s 1990 blockbuster “Days of Thunder,” were married that same year. They divorced in 2001.

“I thought, ‘I don’t deserve to be here,’ ” Kidman said. “We would go to the Oscars, and I would think, ‘I’m here to support him.’ I felt it was my job to put on a beautiful dress and to be seen and not heard.”

Seen she undoubtedly was. Kidman won a Best Actress Oscar in 2003 for “The Hours.”

Spears book has a dull point

Getting famous at the expense of your kids isn’t all that lucrative a practice. Just ask Lynne Spears, whose book about raising daughter Britney Spears, “Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World,” has proved to be something of a disappointment.

Yeah, the book did debut at No. 5 on the New York Times list with sales of about 19,000. But a “publishing-industry insider” claims the tome is “not a huge hit,” though the source adds, “Any author would be happy with that.”

“But,” claims New York Post columnist Richard Johnson, “as we all know, publishers of celebrity tell-alls like numbers in the hundreds of thousands.”

Madonna attracts the stars

Speaking of Britney Spears, the troubled songstress was just one of several celebs who attended Madonna’s Thursday show in Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium.

Difference is, other than former boyfriend Justin Timberlake, Spears actually performed with the star. Stars such as Elizabeth Banks, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Lopez and Lucy Liu were just there to watch.

When Plummer punked Pfeiffer

In his new memoir, “In Spite of Myself,” actor Christopher Plummer recalls filming a scene for the Jack Nicholson horror flick “Wolf,” where, his character was supposed to slap co-star Michelle Pfeiffer in the face.

“Gazing into those deep, limpid eyes of hers, I was so hypnotized, my expertise at faking a slap utterly deserted me and I let her have it with full barrels,” Plummer wrote.It was, he said, “one of the worst days of my life.”

Not a particularly Swift move

Speaking of bad days, singer Taylor Swift, 18, told Ellen Degeneres that Joe Jonas, of the Jonas Brothers, didn’t take long to give her a recent message. “It was, like, 27 seconds,” she said. The message: He was dumping her. Over the phone. “It’s all right, I’m cool,” Swift said.

The birthday bunch

Actress June Havoc is 96. Actor Norman Lloyd (“St. Elsewhere”) is 94. Singer newsman Morley Safer is 77. Singer Bonnie Bramlett is 64. Singer Bonnie Raitt is 59. “Entertainment Tonight” host Mary Hart is 58. Actress Alfre Woodard is 55. Singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones is 54. Actress Courtney Thorne-Smith (“According to Jim”) is 41. Actress Parker Posey is 40. Actress Tara Reid (“American Pie”) is 33. TV personality Jack Osbourne is 23.