Paulus Moreelse was the son of Jan Jansz Moreelse, a cooper from Louvain. He was apprenticed, as a young boy, to Michiel van Miereveldt, the well known portraitist from Delft.

Having left his master he travelled to Italy, receiving a great deal of commissions for portraits. He was to specialise in portraiture and it is for this that he is most well-known today. There are also, however, many religious and history paintings by Moreelse.

He joined the Saddlers Guild of Utrecht in 1596 (the Guild of St Luke was not founded until 1611). Moreelse was one of the founder members of the St Luke Guild and was the Dean no less than three times. He was also a teacher at the Drawing Academy alongside Abraham Bloemaert, who was to be a great influence on him.

Moreelse married Antonia van Wyntershaven in 1605 and three years later bought a large house on the Boterstraat. Moreelse had become a wealthy and well respected figure in Utrecht. He owned several houses and became embroiled in the city's politics, gaining a seat on the city council in 1618 after the coup against the Libertine Council. This seat afforded him many new opportunities. He became a Churchwarden, a captain of the Civic Guard and the Chief Treasurer of the City. He also turned his hand to architecture, designing a new enlargement of the city and a new city gate.

Moreelse was a central figure in Utrecht city life, both artistically and politically. His art was enthused with the influence of Miereveldt, combined with the exuberance of Mannerist painting in Utrecht.

Museums where examples of the artist's work can be found include:

Amsterdam, Berlin, Bonn, Brussels and Rome.