diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/user_authn/cookies.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/user_authn/cookies.py
index 1fbbad2d8dc225797642e66b225082d289c3fba8..fe84f459512482d8f23580d3b5326391d7d801a5 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/user_authn/cookies.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/user_authn/cookies.py
@@ -219,6 +219,7 @@ def _set_deprecated_logged_in_cookie(response, cookie_settings):
 
     return response
 
+
 def _convert_to_absolute_uris(request, urls_obj):
     """ Convert relative URL paths to absolute URIs """
     for url_name, url_path in six.iteritems(urls_obj):
@@ -226,6 +227,7 @@ def _convert_to_absolute_uris(request, urls_obj):
 
     return urls_obj
 
+
 def _get_user_info_cookie_data(request, user):
     """ Returns information that will populate the user info cookie. """
 
@@ -255,8 +257,10 @@ def _get_user_info_cookie_data(request, user):
     header_urls = _convert_to_absolute_uris(request, header_urls)
 
     image_urls = {}
-    if user.profile:
+    try:
         image_urls = get_profile_image_urls_for_user(user)
+    except UserProfile.DoesNotExist:
+        pass
 
     image_urls = _convert_to_absolute_uris(request, image_urls)