diff --git a/_includes/author-profile.html b/_includes/author-profile.html
index 5efe4c84b3cd..d07979f39d19 100644
--- a/_includes/author-profile.html
+++ b/_includes/author-profile.html
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {% include base_path %}
 
-{% if page.author %}
+{% if page.author and site.data.authors[page.author] %}
   {% assign author = site.data.authors[page.author] %}{% else %}{% assign author = site.author %}
 {% endif %}