The MVC (Model-View-Controller) is a software architecture pattern that divides applications into three components: model, view, and controller, enhancing maintainability and promoting separation of concerns. The model manages data and business logic, the view represents the user interface, and the controller handles user input and updates the model or view accordingly. This design pattern was developed in the late 1970s by Trygve Reenskaug while at Xerox PARC.