From Harvard to Yale. The Obamas captured the American imagination as two Harvard Law grads. But Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance also impress mightily as two Yale University grads and Hollywood thespians who have lit up the big and small screen. That’s how they met and dated in the fall of 1996 and were wed in 1997. Since then, they have continued to augment their stage portfolios, welcomed twins into the world and published a book on lasting love in 2006 called Friends: A Love Story in 2007.