Solange Knowles credits her maturity to teen divorce

Singer/songwriter Solange Knowles has credited her maturity with becoming a young mother and divorcee by the age of 19.

Beyonce's younger sister stunned fans in February, 2004 by tying the knot with her high school sweetheart Daniel Julez when she was 17 and announcing she was pregnant.

She gave birth to their only child, Daniel Julez J. Smith, Jr., eight months later (Oct04), but their relationship broke down and the singer split from her husband in 2006.

Knowles, now 27, has since managed to carve out a career for herself as a celebrity DJ, musician and fashionista, and she admits her down-to-earth attitude has a lot to do with struggling through her early years of adulthood.

She tells Harper's Bazaar magazine, "In a lot of ways, emotionally and mentally, I feel far older that 27.

"Just going through a marriage and a divorce - which I essentially did by 21 - will give you an insane amount of perspective on life.

"Everyone talks about how, in your 30s, all of these growing pains transition into wisdom and you feel more self-assured and confident, but I think I had a bit of a jump-start on that at 27.

"For the first time in my life, I'm basing every decision around the idea of whether I want to do it or if I think it will be inspiring. And that's paid off for me."