WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. • Though her face has graced the covers of magazines such as Vogue, Elle and Harper's Bazaar, model Angela Lindvall remains anonymous.

That may be hard to believe, but on this day, as she scurries in from a downpour outside, wearing no makeup, a black floppy hat fending off the rain, she's unrecognizable.

And what's even stranger, she likes it that way.

"Even when I first started modeling I told my agents, 'OK, I'll do this, but I don't want to be on the cover of anything,'" she says. "I didn't realize that being on the cover is what made you famous. It's what gets you beauty contracts and all you want. I don't walk around with my hair done and high heels. So nobody would know."

They're probably going to know when "Project Runway All Stars" premieres Thursday on Lifetime. As hostess and one of the judges of the show — which features favorites from the network's previous "Project Runway" episodes — Lindvall's face will be front and center.

"I'm nervous about being out there and being recognized, because I'm kind of a hermit," she says.

There's not much that frightens Lindvall, who became a model when her sister talked her into signing up for a local fashion show in her hometown of Kansas City.

"I was a serious tomboy, and my oldest sister, she used to watch those beauty pageants and she was like, 'Oh, Dad, I want to do this,'" she said. "My grandmother passed away and left some money, so Dad enrolled the two of us in a modeling school in Missouri. And secretly — even though I was a tomboy — I kind of enjoyed it because we learned how to put outfits together.

"It was kind of an etiquette school as well, so we learned basic etiquette and then learned how to do hair and makeup and put these outfits together and did a little runway show. And agents from all around the world came to watch. They were going to choose who got to go where, and I did not even consider myself a candidate. I didn't know a thing about the fashion industry. I didn't know you had to be tall. I certainly was not the pretty girl in high school. I was the awkward one. … When they called my name, I was completely shocked. So I was invited to go to New York and chose an agency."

Lindvall waited six months and, at 17, moved to New York on her own and began high fashion work.

"I have been exposed to all this, but I've made a point to remember where I come from, who I am and know what's important. OK, it might be fun to put on a ball gown and go to a ball — not many women get to do that — but this isn't what quantifies what life is about. It was my children (who were) a big part of making that clear to me," says Lindvall who is one of six children herself.

She was 21 when she became pregnant with her first son.

"I've got to say that was the best thing that ever happened to me because all of a sudden, my life wasn't centered around this career that didn't necessarily move me from a passionate place," she said. "When I had my son, everything made sense."

Now the mother of two boys, 6 and 9, Lindvall is also exploring other possibilities. She's taking Kundalini yoga teacher training, has a line of jewelry on QVC and has appeared in movies.

Mostly what she loves is being at home, growing vegetables in her garden and being with her children. She and her husband are separated.

Would she be willing to marry again?

"All the career stuff has happened really easily, but a domestic partner would be great. I'm willing to try it again. I have a potential one in mind, but I'm not rushing anything."

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"Project Runway All Stars"

When 8 p.m. Thursday • Where Lifetime • More info mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway-all-stars