(CNN) -- Two iconic women with seemingly radically different world views died recently, leaving legacies of humor, pioneering spirit, and striking public personas. As divergent as their styles were, former Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown and comedian Phyllis Diller each used their appearance as a means to an end: Diller to make herself the butt of the joke, Gurley Brown to get ahead personally and professionally -- and to show generations of women how to do the same. Whether chasing beauty or mocking it, these women broke ground by reflecting and reshaping the values of their eras while paving the way for the women behind them.
@highlight
Helen Gurley Brown and Phyllis Diller, who died recently, were media groundbreakers
@highlight
Both Gurley Brown and Diller came into professional success later in life
@highlight
The women used their looks, in disparate ways, to gain public attention
Cosmopolitan
In an era when settling into marriage and family young was the norm, Gurley Brown married at 37 and took over the helm of @placeholder at 43, a position she held for more than three decades.
Phyllis Diller
Diller
Phyllis Diller
Diller
At the age of 37, @placeholder was a harried homemaker and mother of five, who followed her husband's advice to try her hand at humor writing and performing.
Phyllis Diller
Diller
Phyllis Diller
Diller
@placeholder, who passed away Monday at 95, chose not to represent a prettified version of her life, but rather the outrageous extremes of family.
Helen Gurley Brown
Gurley Brown
Helen Gurley Brown
Gurley Brown
I was delighted to see @placeholder, clad in her signature fire engine red suit and fishnets.