Priyanka photo shoot for 'Guess'

At 13, Ms. Chopra visited her mother's sister in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and fell in love with American culture. A guidance counselor at her cousin's high school persuaded her to stay and enroll there while her mom returned home. To hear Ms. Chopra tell the story, it's as if she were deciding whether to go to the grocery store. "It was a whim," she said.