Jennifer Connelly looks skinnier than ever on a run in New York, during a break from playing a homeless woman in Shelter

She has always possessed an enviably slim figure. 
But Jennifer Connelly is skinnier than ever at the moment due to her role as a homeless woman in forthcoming movie Shelter. 
The 42-year-old actress displayed her pencil thin pins and tiny arms as she pounded the pavement during a run in New York City on Wednesday.

Gaunt: Jennifer Connelly has lost a great deal of weight to play a homeless woman in her husband Paul Bettany's directorial debut

She is also noticeably slimmer around the jawline, her face appearing pale and gaunt.
However, that didn’t stop Jennifer from exercising as she went for a run in tight-fitting
black leggings and a black jacket. 

She added a pop of colour with some green and pink trainers and shielded her face from the sun with a pair of large shades.

Slim: While she has always been enviably slim, taking on the role of a homeless woman has seen Jennifer's weight drop significantly

While the plot of Shelter, Jennifer’s husband Paul Bettany's directorial debut, has remained a closely guarded secret, he did tell The Telegraph earlier this year that the film is a 'love story set among the homeless living on the streets of Manhattan.’

The movie also stars Anthony Mackie, who plays Jennifer’s love interest.

Now and then: Jennifer is always slim but looks positively gaunt at the moment

Meanwhile, Paul and Jennifer, who met on the set of 2001’s A Beautiful Mind and married back in 2003, couldn’t be happier. 
They have two children together, Stellan and Agnes, while Jennifer has a son Kai from a previous relationship. 
The moment Paul met his wife he said he was struck by her beauty.

Energetic: Although she is raising three kids and working on a new movie, Jennifer still found time to get out for a run in New York

The actor told The Telegraph in May:  'I remember looking across that enormous table and seeing Jennifer. Thank God I’d learnt my part. I’d never been that close to someone that beautiful before.
‘It was really quite shocking.’
But things did not heat up instantly as it took a scare for the actor to realise his feelings for Jennifer: 'I was in Tuscany when 9/11 happened and I found myself repetitively ringing her up because I knew she lived in downtown New York and I couldn’t get through to her.
'I thought to myself, “Why have I been calling this woman for three days?” Then suddenly it dawned on me.’

Mixing business with pleasure: Jennifer is starring in her husband Paul Bettany's directorial debut, Shelter

Two years later the couple married in Scotland in front of eight witnesses.
But once the pair had their first child everything changed for the Wimbledon star.
'It was when my son was born that I had this moment of realisation,’ he admitted. 'Suddenly I thought to myself, “F**k all this. The world is precarious and I’m going to make my children as safe as possible - with dough.”
'And I went about doing that. It was ludicrous, of course, because they were safe. My wife and I make enough money to ensure their safety, but there I was hammering bits of wood against the window as though there were a zombie apocalypse coming.’
Adding: ‘It sounds neurotic, but it’s not, because the tap can turn off. I know great actors whom nothing has ever happened for.’

Beauty: The moment Paul met his wife he said he was struck by her beauty