Vanessa tells Rachael Ray that she lived in a shelter for two weeks to prepare for her new movie, Gimme Shelter, in which she plays a pregnant homeless teen.

“For Gimme Shelter, my character ends up at this pregnant, homeless teen shelter that’s actually ran in New Jersey by a woman and I actually went and stayed in the shelter for two weeks before I started filming, so I mean like, I lived there with all the girls, with all the kids, so I think that it’s really interesting because you find so much more about yourself,” Vanessa explains to Rachael.

Vanessa ditched her usual glam look for the film, and reveals that she even snipped her own coiffe for the role. “I actually cut my own hair for this movie, I did that to myself, yes I did,” she tells Rachael, adding that she and co-star Rosario Dawson “both look so messed up in this movie.”

It wasn’t all movie talk, as Vanessa dished on who she’s excited to see at this weekend’s Grammys: “I mean I’m really excited to see Adele come back, considering she’s been taking her rest and she’s so amazing, I’m such a big fan of hers. She really is, her voice is just so stunning, so I’m excited to see her come back, yeah, working it!”