Lupita Nyong`o prayed for lighter skin

London: `12 Years a Slave` star Lupita Nyong`o has revealed that she always prayed for fairer skin.The 30-year-old beauty, who has been nominated for Oscars in best supporting actress category for her role in the Steve McQueen`s slavery drama, said she overcame being "teased and taunted" for her "night-shaded skin".

"My one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned," she said. The Kenyan actress said she gathered strength from supermodel Alek Wek when she was a teenager. "A celebrated model, she was dark as night, she was on all of the runways and in every magazine and everyone was talking about how beautiful she was," she said.