Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, often abbreviated to P.C. Hooft, was born in Amsterdam as the son of the then mayor, Cornelis Hooft. Hooft was also the uncle of Cornelis and Andries de Graeff.

He founded the Muiderkring, a literary society located at his home, the Muiderslot, the castle of Muiden in which he got to live due to his appointment as sheriff of Muiden. Among the members were the poets and playwrights G.A. Bredero and Joost van den Vondel. He, Bredero, and Vondel were also founders of the First Nederduytsche Academy.

In 1647, he died at the age of 66 in The Hague.

Hooft was a prolific writer of plays, poems and letters, but he concentrated from 1618 onwards on writing his history of the Netherlands (Nederlandsche historiën), inspired by Roman historian Tacitus. His focus was primarily on the Eighty Years' War between the Netherlands and Spain.

As a poet, he was influenced by his Renaissance contemporaries in France and Italy.